8 Month Birthday Bump

Hey everyone,

I'm officially, just about, 1 month away from having a baby. It's a bit overwhelming, but Nick and I are doing pretty well. The nursery is just about finished, Babies R Us is taking FOREVER to get us the dresser we ordered, so once that's in I'll be able to post pics of the room. It's supposed to get here Tuesday so keep your fingers crossed for us!

My dad visited last week and it's crazy to think the next time he's here, the baby will be on the outside. :) Last night we went to Orzo in N. Andover for dinner and it was delicious! There's a rumor that the red sauce has made women go into labor...so we'll just have to see what happens! So far...nothing yet. Heehee, and I'm ok with that. I don't mind cooking him for a few more weeks!

Here are some pics from the last few days.

My dad and Dexter. He wouldn't get off of him, until my friend Jenn arrived. Then he was old news. :)

8 Month Baby Bump

Me, Dad, and his Grandson :)

Jenn and I

The one who did this to me!! heehee :)

xoxo

32 Week Baby Bump

Hi Everyone!

So I'm at about 33 weeks right now, so these two pics are from last weekend. You can definitely see I'm starting to fill out pretty well :)

I have been feeling well, a little tired, but pretty good for the most part. It's a little hard to sleep, I basically just turn from one side to another. The baby doesn't wake me up with his movements, but whenever I do wake up I touch my belly until I feel him move, I smile, and roll back over. I also pee at least once a night, but I did that even before being pregnant because I drink at least a gallon and a half to two gallons of water a day. I think my maternity clothes will follow me through the rest of the pregnancy and I found a cute dress for my baby shower yesterday. I need a cute but comfy pair of shoes - does anyone have any suggestions? My ankles are a bit swollen, and I don't wear my rings anymore, so I hate to pay alot for a pair of shoes in a bigger size that I'll only need for about 7 more weeks...

xoxo

Happy Weekend!

The weather is beautiful today - I think we're in the high 40's low 50's, and for January, that's quite fabulous.

I got up early and went to get a pedicure - my co-worker was kind enough to give me a Spa Finder gift card (hint hint...I LOVE THOSE) for Christmas. I often do neutral colors but went a little crazy this time - it's called Fly by OPI and it was "created" by Nikki Minaj...so you already know it's going to be bright - here's a shot. Fun, right? And yes, I know my feet are still not good.:

I went to Bella Viaggio in Windham (NH) and although Barbara who did my nails was nice, I probably would not go back. I see a woman named Kelly that works right by my office in Chelmsford (Beleza Spa), and I "mesh" with her better and it's very close to me.

After the pedicure I headed to Wal-Mart and The Christmas Tree Shoppe to run a few errands. I got curtain rods for only $3.99 a piece to hang some new valances I bought for our bedroom. Also found a cute flag for when the summer comes. Now I'm home and relaxing, I made a good dent in creating the Thank You's for my baby shower but still have a ways to go.

Here's a 30 week baby bump update:

And here's a few shots of the new car as promised - I'm loving it so far, I'm super comfortable driving it and have managed to stay off any curbs while getting used to the bigger size ;)

Christmas 2011

Christmas was so much fun this year - mellow, low key, and I was quite spoiled (definitely enjoyed that...considering next year I won't exist anymore :)

I've been good about keeping my blood sugar under control, I treated myself to a sliver of cake on Christmas Eve and my sugar went through the roof, so I know I definitely have an issue. I had to go to a class yesterday and another Tuesday, but have been doing really well so I'm happy about that. I have good days and bad, but I know the babe and I will be just fine. :)

Here are some pics from the holiday- The ones of me in front of the tree are counting as the 28 week baby bump. I'm officially in my last trimester - woohoo! Only about 11 weeks to go!

Dexter & the Tree

Sparkly!

Nick and I on Christmas Eve at Auntie Marlene's house

Me & the tree on Christmas Eve (28 weeks!)

Nick and I at Auntie Diane's

Baby Liam, born in November - so adorable - he just looked around and smiled at everyone, such a good baby. (Courtney & Nick's cousin Bryan's son)

Giraffe ornament I picked up in Mexico

Happiest babe on the planet, Quinton

Christmas is Coming!

I'm so excited that Christmas is just a week away. Today I'm also at 27 weeks, so I'm just about ready to head into my third trimester. It really is crazy how fast time has gone by! I am feeling great, I love the way I look, and I feel very lucky to have had virtually no problems whatsoever. I have noticed I'm getting tired a little easier, but that's certainly nothing to complain about. Plus, it also takes a few tries to get my socks and shoes on, but thankfully I can enlist Nick's help for that :)

Nick is currently painting what will be the nursery. We're having the carpet replaced in the room in early January and then we can really get everything together. We already have the crib, changing table (thanks Dad!), glider (thanks Mom!), valances, mobile, lamp, bedding (thanks Drista Mom!), and some other fun items (thanks friends, you know who you are!) so we'll have a nice little set up very soon.

Here's a few recent pics

Taken on 12/13, the day of my work Christmas Party

Maggie, Me & Brooke at Brunswick for the FCC party, bowling! People were SO surprised that I bowled...I felt like saying I'm not broken, just pregnant!

Relaxing..although Dexter doesn't really seem to be into it.

Dexter with Duncan's marrow bone

Me, Caroline, and Danielle - I ADORE these girls. Nick took a bunch of pics, half of which had a shadow across them because his hand was over the flash. We were out until about midnight...and my normal bed time is 8:30 ish. I was tired the next day, but it was well worth it. They're already planning a huge summer 'Crystal comeback' bash for when I'm able to have a cocktail again ;)

xoxo

26 Week Baby Bump

Since I completely forgot about the 24 week baby bump pic (it was Thanksgiving weekend), and Nick is in DC this weekend, I took this pic of myself yesterday, so here's an update on the bump :)

I wore this outfit to a baby shower yesterday, it's a size large long dress from Kohl's, and I'm really digging it. I like form fitting clothes as opposed to loose, flowy outfits. I like to accentuate my shape as opposed to hiding it. Since it's only going to get bigger for the next few months, I might as well be proud of it! (and I am).

The baby shower was nice, but it's kind of making me dread mine. We know alot of people and have alot of family, and let's be honest...it's not easy to make those things fun. I'm having a small baby shower in NY that my mom is hosting, so my grandma can come (she is 84) and my MIL and SIL are hosting a much bigger shower for me up here. I'm looking forward to it...mostly for the food ;) Plus it'll be nice to have everyone together and get lots of loot for the babe! I'm sure Tami and Alexis will do an amazing job.

I've been super tired this weekend, I slept until 9:45 today which is very unlike me. Maybe I'm finally starting to feel some side effects of being pregnant. And if being tired is what I get, I'm just fine with that!

I have yoga again this Wednesday and I think I've decided to not sign up again in January. I like going, but with bad weather coming and me missing some classes here and there (due to a wake and then I was sick this week), it makes more sense for me to exercise at home. I have one DVD that I like and just bought another yoga dvd recommended by a friend that I'm going to try out this week.

Hope everyone is well!

xoxo

Morning Hug

21 Week Baby Bump

Hey everyone - Sorry for the delay! I'll blame Comcast for taking awhile to give us our cable & internet back ;) (for those that don't know, Nick works in sales for Comcast, heehee)

This is my favorite pregnancy outfit so far. I have always been proud of my curves, and now with the extra curve on my front half (and the back half getting curvier) I really like the way I look. I usually wear this outfit during the week, and on the weekend if I'm not feeling too lazy.

As a kid I used to make an "ugly" face where I'd stick out my bottom teeth (which are crooked), and it always made people laugh. I'm making that face in this picture.

Here's a pic of the big brother so he doesn't feel left out. He likes to turn away a second before I take the picture, I think the flash might bother his (gigantic) eyes.

You know it's cold when...

Dexter is sleeping like this (his head is in my lap, that's my belly above).

The house was 59 degrees this morning, so we bit the bullet and put the heat on for a little while. If we didn't have Dexter and our 2 cats, we probably wouldn't. We have a vent in front of our sink that Dexter loves, and the second the heat clicked on he curled right up into it.

Katie & Nick's wedding tonight! I'll be leaving work at 2:30 (yay!) and we need to be up in Manchester by 6. It should be a fun time. :)

xoxo

16 Weeks

Hey Everyone,

Here's the 16 week baby bump pic. Nick was kind enough to point out how much smaller I looked in last month's pic (such a doll). I still don't really feel
different, but I guess I am showing more than I thought I was! Plus, you'll notice the darker hair, which I don't love, but I'm trying to dye my hair less and am going to try and go back to my natural color, which is brownish, blondeish, somethingish. :)

xoxo

Maternity Shopping

Today I hit up a consignment shop in Nashua that a co-worker told me about. The GPS took me in a nice circle trying to find it, but I eventually got there. I haven't been to a consignment shop in a long time, and when I got there it was a bit chaotic. But, the employees there were very helpful and friendly. I ended up buying a flowery hot pink dress that was originally from Motherhood - it was $16 and I know that was a deal, considering they're usually $35 or more at the store. It was in great condition - I have to wait to get a little bigger to wear it, but it's super cute. If you're in my area, the name of the store is Mother & Child and it's on Amherst St. I also went to Target and got a grey drapey top. I'm still a bit intimidated at the thought of looking at the baby stuff...but the clothes are just so adorable - can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl so I can start going crazy with that stuff.

I ended up buying two pairs of maternity jeans and two t-shirts at Motherhood...to the tune of $117! I couldn't believe how expensive it was, but I really needed jeans and they were super comfortable. I'm looking forward to growing into them.

I wanted to get new lamps for our bedroom but haven't had any luck. Here's a pic of me and the bump at Homegoods.

Nick is in CT for the weekend so I have the house to myself. It's nice and peaceful. :)

xoxo

3 Month Baby Bump

As promised! It took Nick several tries to get this picture, a weird shadow kept casting itself on the images he would take...then he realized he had his hand over the flash :)

Slacking already!

I'm already slacking on the baby bump pics, I plan to have Nick take a picture tomorrow morning for the 3 month bump and I'll post it as soon as I can. I just copied over all of the pics from Brooke's wedding and I looked at them and realized again what a great time it was. I can't believe it was already 3 weeks ago!

My friend Lauren posted a picture of her Boston Terrier Jackson hugging her baby bump when she was pregnant, and I honestly found it to be one of the cutest picture I have ever seen. My pic isn't as great as Lauren's was, but you can't help but love Dexter's face. :)

People have asked if I have strange cravings, but I've always been kind of a weird eater. As a kid I'd eat pizza but take off the cheese (my aunt would joke and say she should have made me a ball of dough, which sounds like heaven if you ask me). As an adult I've been much more open to trying different foods. For the past several months I was a vegetarian, but once I became pregnant I had no interest in any food at all, least of all fruits and vegetables. I force feed myself fruit, but can't get to the vegetables just yet. I've been trying to eat animal meat (chicken) because I need more protein, but just the thought makes me a bit sick to my stomach. I'll eat it probably once every few days, if that. I've always loved lemon, and I order lemonade now if we go out to eat. I also love when I go out to eat and they have "mocktails" - I went to Not Your Average Joe's last night and had a delicious mocktail which consisted of pineapple, lemon, lime juice, and coconut water. Yum!

Announcing...

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. – Elizabeth Stone

Yup...

8 weeks, 1 day - taken on 8/9/2011

Nick and I are happy to announce we are expecting our first child in March of 2012. I'm sorry we couldn't tell everyone in person and I thought this would be the best way to get the news out.

Here's a shot of the baby belly...I promise it won't be my pale stomach every time, but I felt the need to show everyone that I already have a pouch! It's a wretched morning picture of me, I'll try for better next time.

Taken 8/12/2011




xoxo