4D Ultrasound Pictures

Sunday, August 22nd, Mom, Dad, Jessie, Xia, Gaga, Cathy, Lina, & Jorge all met Edson & I for our final Ultrasound!  We went to the same place we did the 1st time (when we found out we were having a girl) and were all so excited to see little Lexi :)

Lexi's support group (minus Aunt Cathy, who's taking the picture)

Mommy, Daddy, & 32 week Lexi

She's still a girl thank goodness :)

This adorable little face was definitely worth the wait!

heart beat: a healthy 152 beats per minute

Look everyone, I can suck on my hand!

Watch out Angelina Joli, I think I have Daddy's lips!

We love you Lexi & can't wait to kiss all over your sweet little face XOXO

 

August...totally Lexi centered, PART II

Since I ran out of room on the last post, here are the rest of the baby shower pictures:

My cousins, Danielle & Stephanie (Mom's brother's kids)...aren't they beautiful?!

Aunt Cathy, Dan, Steph, me, Gaga, & Mom...but where are Jessie, Zoe, & Xia???

Lexi's 2 grandmas & I

Lexi's auntie Pam and honorary aunties, Jenee, Crystal, & Geisa

Lexi's grandmas with Edson & I

Lexi's uncle Jay, aunt Pam, & us

Ha-ha!  Just a silly pic from the end of the night of uncle Bob (Gail's husband) & Dad & I showing off our baby bumps!

Thank you everyone for blessing Lexi with so much love and so many wonderful gifts!!!

August...totally Lexi centered!!!

So far August has been completely Lexi centered which can only mean one thing...SHE'S ALMOST HERE!!!   Eeeeehhhhh!  We're so excited!!!

Here's a little recap of our exciting month so far...

August 5th--My amazing parents stopped by on their way back from Vegas & helped me complete Lexi's room. 

Isn't it cute???  We love the way it turned out!  Thank you Mom & Dad!!!  Also, a special thank you to Crystal for letting me drag her to Ikea to find a hanging lamp and to Jenn for her fabulous ideas (the buttons on the letters and the flower hooks).  You guys are amazing, thank you!!!!


August 7th--Prepared Childbirth Class
Woo-hoo, our first childbirth class!!!  So, I thought I was totally organized, but in second guessing myself we ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time, oops!  My bad!  I had scheduled 2 prenatal classes on back-to-back Saturdays and gotten them mixed up.  No biggie, right?  We were supposed to be in Corona for an all day class that started at 8:15am but instead we were checking into Kaiser Riverside for a class starting at 9am!  Um, yeah...kind of a big difference!  After finding out we were there on the wrong day, Edson & I rushed home, grabbed the directions, and made it to Kaiser in Corona by 9:15.  An hour late!  

When we got there we opened the door and everyone just starred in silence, including the instructor!  How embarrassing!  So I asked if there was somewhere we needed to sign in and she said we could do it at the break & to go ahead & just have a seat.  Well, as the class dragged on, we decided we were pretty happy we got there late, haha!  It's not that the information wasn't good, it's just that we thought we were going to be there until 3pm when come to find out it wasn't over until 5:30pm.

I have to say though that we fully enjoyed the class.  Although I had already read the recommended reading & knew a lot about the topics the nurse was talking about (gosh, if I only would have done that in college, huh?!, lol), it was neat to experience it all with Edson.  Just being in a room filled with about 20 other couples who were also 1st time parents was a nice feeling.  We all got to practice breathing, pushing, & pain relief techniques (including seeing an epidural), get massages from our husbands, learn exercise techniques, and learn about the stages of delivery.   

I know this may sound silly but while we were there I had one of those ah-ha, touching moments.  As the nurse is having us "spoon" basically and the dads are lightly running their fingertips up & down the moms' arms, legs, & back as a relaxation technique, I realized just how lucky I am.  I have a husband that loves me so much that he wants to start a family with me.  He's ready to be a dad!  Not only is he ready to start a family, but he wants to be 100% involved & supportive in every aspect of our lives and wants to be a team.  A TEAM!  I know that's how it's supposed to be, but rarely does it turn out that way.  With all the broken families, divorces, and everything else, I'm feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.  

It's just so touching to see daddies who want to be at childbirth classes because they care so much about their family.  Thank you God for putting Edson in my life and for blessing us with so much.  I pray that we will always be a team and will raise Lexi to be an appreciative, well behaved, sweet little girl who has good morals, strong values, and the strength to do what's right.        

Phew, okay that just might have been my first emotional pregnancy moment, but it's all true.  I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend & I pray that through the craziness of having a family, we never loose that sense of why we started one in the first place.  I forever want us to have that "spark" for one another and that desire to make each other happy.


August 12th--30wk Belly & Video (click on the word "video" to watch it and then click on the back button to come back to this page)

weight=147, Total weight gain=12 lbs

August 14th--Baby Express prenatal class

Okay, round 2!  We couldn't mess up this time since we had already been to the other class, so we checked in & were set to go at 9am.  At this class we learned hospital procedures, how to quiet a fussy baby, how to swaddle, how to give a bath, and how change a diaper.  We also learned a lot about breastfeeding and a bunch of other interesting facts, like that a mom's chest regulates her baby's body temperature.  We watched a lot of videos, and had a presenter who was kind of a dorky, hippie-ish lady who carried a make-believe baby in a sling through the entire 8hr class.  We have no idea why she did this, but suspect she secretly wants another baby (she already has 2 grown boys) but knows she's too old to do it all again.  All in all, it was a good class and although a bit boring at times, we learned a good amount of useful techniques and information.


August 21st--Maternity Pictures & Our Family Baby Shower  

**Our 32week maternity pictures we had professionally taken by my dear friend, Kalyn.  She grew up on the same street as us (where my parents still live) and got into photography when her daughter was born and she realized photographing those special moments was her passion.  Although I hadn't seen Kalyn in years (like, pretty much since we were kids), it was as if time had never passed.  We picked up right where we left off and had so much fun doing the shoot...even Edson enjoyed it!  It was just a really neat experience to have a childhood friend photograph such a special moment in Edson & I's life together.  

I don't have the pictures back yet, but as soon as they're edited & everything, I'll post the link so you can check them out :)

**BABY SHOWER TIME!!!
My mom & Aunt Gail (one of my dad's sisters) threw us a fantastic baby shower at my aunt's house in Vista.  It ended up being mostly my family because Lina said Edson's family lives too far away & wouldn't be able to make it:(.  Although we wish everyone could have been there, we definitely had a great time and it lasted well into the night.  We were having so much fun that we didn't even leave until 10:30pm...and boy were we pooped!  Here are some pics from the grand event (you can click on any image to enlarge):

The ultra chic invitation from Baby Cachet

The fabulous cake by Kristi Rush from Your Sugar Rush

It was 4layers of moist lemon cake in each tier with citrus cream cheese filling & butter cream frosting...basically the best cake I've ever tasted!!!

Crystal, my fantastic friend who picked up the cake for me in Corona & transported it to Vista (~1hr 15mins away)

Jessica, my dear friend since grade school who will be getting married Nov. 6th!

L to R: My mom's best friend since childhood (Janet), Jessica, Aunt Gail, me, Geisa, Crystal, & Jenee

My brother's daughter, Xia and her mommy, Yvette XOXO

3 generations: Jessie (my sister), Gaga (my mom's mom-her actual name is Eleanor), me, and my mom (Kim)

Jessie's baby, Zoe Grace Mitchell (2 1/2months old)

Cousin Sarah (one of Dad's sister's daughters) and her kids (Julia, Matthew, & Owen) with baby Zoe

Cousin Sammy, her daughter Hayli, and Aunt Gail

What Happened to July???

July, July, where did you go???  I guess I better go back & recap before I'm 2 months behind!


June 30-July 5 Xia came to have 5 sleepovers with us!  We had so much fun with our little ZB!

Our week consisted of a day at Citrus Park in Corona, aka "Splash Park"...

 

Of course a day at the pool & dinner at John's Incredible Pizza...

 

Another trip to Splash Park (that place is just too fun to only go once)...

On 4th of July we got ready & headed over to Edson's parents' house for a little fun & fireworks...

Lina & Xia made cookies for our tea party

Xia, 5yrs old

He-he, look at this cute little model

Boy was she excited to watch fireworks

July 6th Jess, Ryan, & Zoe came down to visit...Baby Zoe is 5weeks old & cute as can be!!!  She looks just like her daddy!...

Gaga & Papa's 2nd great grand-daughter

Hi pretty girl!

July 10th Amelia (center) & Tad (not pictured) came to visit from Texas and a huge group of friends went to Ooka for dinner...

sorority sisters: Hannah, Amelia, & I

July 17th Edson & I went to Jenn & Mike's "White Trash Summer BBQ"...

My baby bump was the perfect addition to my white trash outfit

Jenn & Mike's tattoos & hair cut were awesome!

Mike's mom & her boyfriend won the "best costume" award

!

July 20th, my 27week Belly Bump...

July 23rd I went out to dinner with Edson, Crystal, & Luke to the Mission Inn like this...

Pregnancy brain or blond moment? Still unsure of the cause, but whatever it was, I went out to dinner with 2 different shoes on!!! How embarrassing! I asked Edson which one I should wear & then got busy putting on jewelry and totally forgot to take one off!

July 27th, my 28week Belly Bump...

 

Good bye beautiful July, you will be missed!  August, here we come!!!