Wear Sunscreen

This Labor Day we spent in Philadelphia with my family and friends. A wedding for my high school friend, Sarina, was the main reason for our trip, but we ended up seeing and doing many things. 

We caught up with my cousin, Nicole, and got to spend time with her husband, Shawn, and two daughters Claire & Hailey. I hadn't seen them since our wedding when Claire was just two weeks old and she's already 6 1/2 months! Time flies, and it's even more apparent when you see a child's growth. 

 Hailey reading with me (:

Sarina's wedding was absolutely beautiful. She's smart and fun and beautiful and I was so happy she has found such happiness. 

Lou and I with my high school friends. I love having friends that no matter how much we change, or how long it's been, we can come together and it is like not a second has passed. I've really missed these people. 

 The wedding was exquisite and had all of the elements of a traditional Jewish wedding. The dancing and merriment could not be contained.

The wedding was held at the Michener Museum , in Doylestown, PA. Which was modern and lovely.

I will say I was a bit nervous (something I almost always am) of seeing my high school friends while pregnant. I am feeling a bit self conscious lately (does any girl really like gaining weight?) and at 20 weeks I am definitely feeling every bit of pregnancy. 

Luckily I've got this guy. He was such a trooper all weekend, even though it was way busier than he would have liked. We also cleaned our my parents attic and garage for baby girl items (!) and saw my longtime friend, Aislin. I hardly have any pictures with Aislin, and yet she is one of my closest friends. She is back briefly from her stay in Armenia with the Peace Corps, and it honestly was so refreshing to my soul to see her. I think often of the line from the Sunscreen Song, " Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. " 

And as the gaps get larger, it only becomes more important to construct better bridges. 

This life, it is a crazy one, and it can be hard to remember what is important. I spent this past weekend remembering that, and thinking of the life I hope to give to my daughter. I hope, above all else, that she values and appreciates what is truly important; relationships and people.

Patty

It's a....

Girl!

And we couldn't be happier. The 20 week scan showed everything was good (as far as they could tell), though it will still be a relief if she is born and is healthy. 

We had fun telling our family; Lou made cupcakes with pink filling (thanks pinterest!) and they were super tasty too. Everyone was surprised. Most of all me.

Looking at my mothers intuition thus far...well.... let's hope it gets better. You guys. I knew I wasn't pregnant. Knew. I was just going to the doctor, doing a blood test, and going to get a shot so I would get period again after the test came back negative.

Nope... I am definitely pregnant!

And you guys. I knew it was a boy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't care either way. But I knew it was a boy.

Nope...We're definitely having a little girl.

I am floored, in shock. And Louis is over the moon. He is going to be a wonderful father. He is ethical (almost to a fault), intelligent (I'm in trouble, our kid is going to be so much smarter than me), and, most importantly, his heart and compassion are endless. I've never known such a love, and cannot describe the feeling of euphoria I have at this moment. Our love, it has created what I am sure will be our greatest love; our daughter.

Back when we first started to date, Louis and I ran out of words to describe our feelings of how we felt about finding one another. We exhausted the adjectives for happy. And in this moment, we none of those words feel sufficient. Blessed and unbelievably lucky. Each day we get closer to meeting our daughter, and I don't know how it is possible, but I get happier and happier.

Though, I'd be lying if I didn't get a bit anxious.  I'm already scared for her middle school experience. How do I raise a girl? I want to protect her, but I know that some of her struggles will be necessary and unpreventable, and, hopefully, only make her stronger. I've heard children are a reflection of their parents, and I will see, more clearly than in a mirror, my true self, in my child. This makes me want to really step up, to be the person I know I can be, and give her a role model that she can love, trust, depend on, and look up to.

I may not have gotten the mothers intuition right so far, and I can't promise I will get anything right in the future, but I already love this daughter of mine and I can promise that I always will. And that is something I don't need mother's intuition to know :)

Any mothers out there have tips on raising daughters? Or kids in general? You know I'd love to hear about them!

Patty

20 Week Check - What to Ask

I've started and stopped blogs a few times now, and I really wanted to have a place where I could come and collect my thoughts (again). My goal was to do it daily, but this week, to be honest, all I can think about is the next doctors appointment I have. But I didn't want to miss another post, so another pregnancy post it is!

image via

Tomorrow we have an anatomy (and gender!) 20 week scan. I already have my anal list of questions ready... Is it weird that I am so confident that I know the gender I'm not even that excited about it? (But of course I'm still excited, but only because I can't wait to be told I'm right. How obnoxious confident is that?)
Not that it matters, either way, boy, girl, or both, we really are hoping and praying it is healthy. I can't wait to stop calling it an "it" because it has just felt so wrong to say. It's not an it!

image via

My List of Obnoxious 20 week questions, in case they can be useful to anyone else out there!

1) What is the location of the placenta? 
2) What is the length of umbilical cord?
3) How many vessels does the umbilical cord contain? 

(*most babies have 3; one vein that brings nutrients from the placenta to the baby and two arteries that bring waste back to the placenta. The kidney and heart develop at the same time as the umbilical cord; if there are idiosyncricies in the umbilical cord it is a good idea to double check the kidney and heart development. I found this information at thebump) 
4) Are all four chambers of the heart formed? Do they look normal? Are cardiac outflow tracks in place? Are there any echogenic foci? (bright spots on the heart) heart beating in normal range?
5) Are there any spinal cord issues? 
6) Is a cleft lip/palette present? Do the face and lips look normal?
7) Are all organs there? Are all the organs developed ok? Are there any abdominal wall /diaphragm defects? Are the kidneys and bladder functioning ok? (And are 2 kidneys present?)
8) Are all the organs hooked up together correctly?
9) Are any fibroids present? If so, how large and what should I do?

10) What is the position of baby currently?
11) What are the percentages/measurements (abdomen, arms/legs, etc) and what the percentage measurements are based off of?

12) Are there any neural tube deficiencies? (ie opening in spine or brain due to lack of folic acid) Is the spine development ok? Are the vertebrae in alignment? Is the skin covering spine in the back?

13) Is the neural translucency still ok?

14) Is the nasal bone still present?

15) Is the amniotic fluid level ok?

16) Do the muscles appear to be working correctly?

17) Are there any brain cysts present?

Patty is my name, being neurotic is my game. I should note that I am not a doctor and do not have a medical licence, these questions are just based off of my own personal research. But I hope these questions help any one else at their 20 week check. 

Just for fun, click here if you want some truly awful ways to announce you're pregnancy. 

the big ole baby to-do list

well, there's nothing like a huge life change to put a little spring in your very fatigued step. while i let myself get away with the "let's not jinx it" and gave myself a free pass to just not worry about things for the first three months, i am now back to my old, anxious, self.

but what better than to pretend that you have control over your life than to make a list and start crossing things off?

a few things we want to accomplish before baby rosato comes in late january, and that we spent the majority of the weekend working on: (some of these take longer than you would think) 
- fix front step
- fix front door  (we will need to replace this at some point, but for now a cheap fix will do!)
- put molding back on the rooms (removed because we already replaced the floors...i almost want to put floors on here so i have something i can cross off, haha) (got one out of two rooms done!)
- paint nursery... we were waiting to find out the gender (this thursday - fingers crossed - omg!) but we're thinking green
- buy and install nicer curtain rods
- buy and install stackable washer/dryer (it works and it's awesome!)
- get nursery furniture from cina & dave then set up nursery furniture: crib, dresser, and rocking chair (dresser still needs knobs)
- pull up plants in front garden
- plant fall mums in front garden
- cut down trees in front yard (mangled with wires coming in / out of house and growing slanted)
- paint bathroom cabinets white
- buy and hang art in the kitchen
- make fitted crib sheets... this looks like a great tutorial!... and this site has some amazing inspiration for sheets! i did some research on fabric (spoonflower.com is amazing) but it's more expensive to make than to buy. going to scrap this idea.
- hang nursery art (i've already painted a few pieces!). need to paint frames! I think we're set on the art, just need to hang it all up!
- hang picture in living room
- reorganize pantry
- figure out cat litter situation (we used to have it in the second bedroom)
- update light fixture in master bedroom (it currently has bronze monkeys and palm trees....)
- update light fixture in nursery
- put closet doors on in nursery (i went into crazy mode and removed the ugly carpet and 70's accordion doors one day... it was therapeutic)
- update mailbox bought and install
- set up day care situation
- set up a pediatrician
- schedule eye and dentist appointments
- install new shower head (one with an attachment hose)
- print and hang art for bathroom
- buy and install car seats
- stock up on house items
- stock up on pre-made freezer meals
- acquire necessary items from registry
- attend child birth class, and parenting class we will be DIYing these!
- make car set blankets (x 2)... i might check out this tutorial!
- paint cuckoo clock (i bought a cuckoo clock for $10 at the Bouckville Antique Show... i want to paint it something like this or this or this)
- plan a garden for next year. prepare by researching composting and plant organization.
- make a few changing pad covers... like these!
- learn how to properly use my camera
- register for baby done actually! only took about 4 episodes of breaking bad ;)
- pack for hospital
- maybe a diy mobile for over the crib... like this (she used christmas ornaments!)
- i'd love to crochet a couple of these bad boys too!

just having this all typed out makes it feel all feel way more manageable! am i the only list-freak out there? hopefully i'll add some finished pics to an updated list of this sometime soon!

hope everyone had weekends that were maybe not so chore-centered :-)

Patty

Weekending

This past weekend we got to spend time with Lou's family at a family wedding and at a family birthday party. I loved getting to catch up with his cousin Chrissy and his parents! They are truly the nicest family and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

I am so lucky to have this girl in my life! Not just a cousin and neighbor, she's hands down one of the greatest people I know. I love and respect her and have a friggin blast hanging out with her. To call her my best friend is an honor :-)

(17 weeks pregnant! It just looks food-baby-esque)

My sweet inlaws, Lou's mom Mary, sister Severine, and dad James.

 

Pre-wedding we spent all day at the Bouckville Antinque show (something we do annually and you should check out should you find yourself in central upstate NY in August) with my parents and scored this painting for our kitchen. We'd been hunting for a statement piece since we moved in, and were both drawn to the oil painting. The colors actually tie the whole kitchen together, which Lou was pretty happy about because that means he doesn't have to paint of the California Poppy red walls!

We were also very lucky to pick up gender neutral nursery furniture from Lou's Aunt Cina. Thank you very much Dave & Cina! Between that and the stackable washer/dryer we bought (which will unfortunately have to go in the 2nd bedroom / nursery) the house is really starting together. It's like we're adults or something!

The weekend flew by (don't they always?) but I have to say it was one of my favorites in a while. I loved getting to see both of our families, spend time outside, and get a little dressed up. I've also been working out again, and it feels so great. I didn't realize how much I missed it! The days and weeks are flying by.

How did you spend your weekend?