Our Bradley class friends had their baby boy!

Monica and Tom Ramsey are a couple that were in our Bradley Class. She was the first of the 5 moms in the class to give birth.

It happened this morning...at 3am:
Dylan arrived, 7lbs, 20.5 inches long.
Congrats to my first baby friend to be born!!

1 month 2 days!

Just like our 1 month anniversary when we started going out as boyfriend/girlfriend, we both forgot our 1 month anniversary of being MARRIED! AHHHH

Well, Peter and I have been married for 1 month and 2 days! Crazy how fast time FLIES BY!!!

Congratulations to US!!!!

YAYYYY

The baby's finishing touches are being put in place at this moment...so we mustn't rush the artist!

I went to the doctor this morning with Peter and Manuela. Everything is going great. My blood pressure,my weight (166 lbs) babies heart rate, and my belly size. I met with Lisa again. She was the only one available for an appointment this week. We talked about the possible action plan if the baby does not come by the predicted due date. She said it's completely normal and healthy for the baby to stay in a little extra time. The reason I say this, is because there are many people out there including myself, who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this baby boy into our lives...and this waiting game has us on our toes. I asked her if there was anything i could do to help the process along, and she just told me....HE WILL COME WHEN HE'S READY. This baby is already teaching me lessons on life. Me, the most impatient person in the world is being told to sit and WAIT until he decides it is HIS TIME!

I read an article in a Lamaze magazine titled: The waiting Game, when it comes to choosing a birthday, baby knows best.

"Patience is truely a virtue after 9 long months, especially when you're a few weeks or days from your due date. The swollen feet, extra pounds and late-night bathroom trips can take their tolls. Wouldn't it be easier to schedule your baby'sbirth and get the show on the road?"

It does make you wonder. If we spend our lives making agendas and planning things, why not this too. However, this isn't just something else that goes on a to-do list or an agenda. This is a process! A process that in itself is a miracle, it's crazy, it's amazing, and nerve-wrecking. Sorry for the analogy, but it's like the week before a big race. It feels like the weekend is NEVER GONNA ARRIVE. You run the race a million times in your head with all these different outcomes each time. You know that it's going to hurt, that your going to be exhausted, and that it's going to take everything out of you and you don't even know how the results will end-up, you just hope that you will win it and PR (set a personal record). My nerves would always get to me, especially as race time neared...leading me to run to the bathroom and sometimes even throw up. Yet as soon as the gun went off for the start of the race, everything vanished. It was go time and there was only one thing on my mind, get to the FINISH!

I must be patient these last couple days so that when it's go time...I'll be ready to race! I know it's going to be painful, long, hard, intense, and worth every second of it. Coach Montalvo would always say...i want to see you cross the finish line and collapse because you left every once of energy out on the course...And don't worry, I'll be there to catch you...if not, I'll know that you didn't give it your all. I want to give my all for this labor...and I know that Peter, my sister, and my family will be there to catch me once I cross the finish. Best part of it all...I get to take home the coolest trophy ever....a strong, happy, healthy, beautiful (handsome), smart, charming baby BOY!

Week 39

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Peter, Manuela, the baby and I had a very special Christmas. On noche buena we played some games at a friend of Peter's house and we opened one gift each that night. Christmas morning we woke up to many surprises under the tree and a super YUMMY breakfast! We even had a chance to ride a real Texas truck to Christmas Mass!

Now a couple days later, I feel like i've traveled back in time to early April of this year when I was packing for my Peace Corps journey. At that point I didn't know what I was going to need for my trip. The uncertainty lead to procrastination....like now. I don't know what to pack or what I'll need for delivery or my hospital stay or for the baby's arrival. I prepared as best I could for my trip, reading blogs, looking up suggested packing lists, and asking other volunteers that were in the same position as I was in. In the last couple months, especially weeks, i've spent hours skimming through pregnancy magazines, looking through suggested hospital packing lists made by doctors, midwives, other mothers, and asking other friends, who are pregnant, what they are doing to prepare...all in hopes that I will be ready.
The other day Manuela asked me if I would go back to the Peace Corps. I told

A week from this Thursday is my DUE DATE!
Can you believe it?!?!
I don't know if the baby will come sooner or later than the predicted date...but i guess this waiting game is just part of the process. Yesterday I felt some cramps. I'm not sure what caused them or if they were signs of anything, but I felt something.

well...I'm off to live the last week of 2010 and see if there are any year end surprises!

A lot has happend!

One week has gone by and SOOOO much has happened....where to I begin?

Lets go in order...

Last Thursday I got a went to my weekly Dr.'s Appointment. This appointment I got to meet Dr. Sebestyen! She was really nice and down-to-earth. She told me that the baby's heart rate was great. I weighed in at 164lbs...hehehe. I also got a Belly Cast done by LeeAnn and one of the other nurses. It felt really nice and warm as it got harder. It was a lot of fun.

Friday night we went to a Christmas Party. I made $3 in Tips while working the bar. That gig lasted a whole 2 minutes before people realized that I had no idea how to mix drinks...haha...oh well. It was a lot of fun to see people's expressions when they would see me and my tummy behind the bar. The music was cool, and the party was fun, but it was even funner when we got to head home! We GOT TO SEE REINDEER... Santa's reindeer where on the lose...EVERYWHERE!

Saturday morning I walked at town lake with my Prego-Friend, Laurel. It was a nice stroll through Town Lake. We met up with her husband and some other runners for breakfast at Whole foods...the best BREAKFAST TACOS in the world!

Saturday evening, my Birthday CELEBRATION began. We started with a yummy stop at TCBY! A waffle cone and 2 scoops later we arrived at the pedestrian bridge downtown where I got to open my first birthday gift under the stars, surrounded my downtown's lighting. I opened what seemed to be a box of running shoes to find a D3000 NIKON!!! It is perfect! Perfect for me and for our new Photography subject that is just about done cooking in the oven! I can't wait to be able to capture all the KODAK moments with this awesome camera.
The night wasn't over yet, we headed to outback for my birthday dinner...Yummy STEAK, LOBSTER TAILS, BAKED POTATO, and BLOOMIN ONION! What a way to end the my pre-birthday celebration.


Sunday- MY BIRTHDAY! Manuela arrived as a Surprise!!!! Santa sent her with a suitcase full of fun things for all of us! I got a beautiful DVD with messages from my parents and Pictures of our lives growing up. Only my sister can manage to make a DVD like that, study for school, work full time, and graduate Magna Cum Laude and part of 2 honor societies, and come to Austin to surprise me...INCREDIBLE. We met up with some friends for dinner on Lake Austin and ended the night with a scrumptious turtle cheesecake. The entire Cafe sang me Happy Birthday. What a way to turn 24!

A little side note: People seem to think my Birthday is the perfect day to do IMPORTANT THINGS! Angela and Andrew are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary. And Kelly and Josh got engaged in EPCOT!! My friends will never forget my birthday...lol.

Monday- Manuela and I were Busy Bees. We organized the apartment, ate lunch at a great TACO place, and ran some errands...

The most incredible part of the day was when I ran into MARION JONES at the Bank. I almost had my baby right there due to the excitement!

Tuesday- We looked through all the pregnancy magazines to see what articles we should keep and which ones we could throw out. My plan is to create a binder with all the articles separated by sections so that I could skim through it when I need a little guidance...or need little reminders.

Wednesday- was FIX MOMMY UP DAY! We went to the doctor, pre-natal massage place, and hair salon. Manuela fixed me up a little and in the evening we went with Peter to watch Blindside at the Alamo. It was a great movie and a Great DAY!



I will post pictures soon.... =)

Tummy Progression

September October November

I still have to post the December and January ones...we'll see when I take those =)

Manuela is graduating today!

Congratulations Tia Manuela on Graduating today from FIU!

Magna Cum Laude, Member of Psi Chi, and Phi Beta Kappa

We are all super proud of you and can't wait to see you in the next couple of weeks. Congrats on all your awards and honors. All your hard work has paid off. When you graduate, you feel as if you have reached the end of the KNOWN path but don't worry. Though the path from here on out is undefined, the process of figuring it out is an adventure in itself. You will continue to do great things in your life as you have done up until now with all the hard work, dedication, and love with which you have surpassed all the obstacles in your path.

Thank you for being such a great role model for those who know you and those who will meet you in the very near future...

we Love you Manuela!