10 weeks to go and our 3D Ultrasound

Well, I am officially 30 weeks pregnant and should be meeting our daughter within the next two months sometime.I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by! I think they next two months will drag though, because we are so eager to meet her and see what she looks like, and how much she weighs, and when her birthday is going to be. We've got the name narrowed down to about two or three choices, but we're not telling! We probably won't decide until she gets here anyway. We didn't pick Alex's middle name until we saw him, and then we just knew. This pregnancy hasn't been much different from my first, despite that fact that we are having a different gender this time. I have had more back problems, more heartburn, less nausea,more cravings, and I feel like she is more active than he was. We had a 3D ultrasound done on Saturday at a place called Precious Previews in Bel Air, and it was really cool. We actually are getting a good deal out of the whole thing, because the tech could only get profile shots, so she's having us back free of charge this Saturday. I'll post some of the ones she was able to get though. She was able to tell us that it is for sure a baby girl--no doubt about it. We saw it in 3D! LOL. That gives some relief, so we know everything we've done to prepare for a girl wasn't in vain. She was also able t tell us the baby weighs almost 3 lbs. now, has a lot of hair and is already head down. To see features on the baby;s face was just amazing.We could see her opening and closing her eyes, and moving her tonuge around actually licking the placenta (gross I know, but the tech told us it's really common). I'll post some of the pics she was able to get. I also post some new pics of Alex. He's getting so big, so fast! He's almost 19 mnths old. We had his 18 month photos taken at JCPenny two weeks ago, and he looks like such a big boy in them. He's really into sport like activities now. He loves to throw and kick any ball that is in sight and the boy has a pretty good arm! He also is starting to love matchbox cars! He runs them all over the house and crashes them into each other. It;s to funny. He's talking a lot more, but saving it for us only! LOL. He doesn'treally talk much around others, but he's non-stop at home. He can say "Baby" reallyclearly now and says "choo choo" every time he sees a train. He also repeats pretty much nything we say to him. Tonight whle we were changing him, we said "love you" and he said it right back to us. It was the sweetest thing. He still loves animals too,and we have been thnking about maybe taking him to the zoo soon before the weather turns cold. We'll see. We just know he'll be a great big brother, even if it takes some time for him to adjust to the concept!

This was the closest we got to getting a full shot of her face--I do think she looks like she has Alex's nose here.

One of Alex's 18 Month shots from JCPenny--I think he looks more like Abe here for once! LOL.

Alex in my classroom on back to school night--he found and orange on my shelf and was throwing it around like a ball

Playing around with Daddy

Ready for purple Friday--go Ravens!

Love that smile!

 

Baby Shower Picnic, Back to School, and 18 Month Old Mayhem

I realize it's been a little while since my last post, but things have been crazy with me returning to work two weeks ago, us planning and hosting a baby shower picnic for baby Arceo # 2 and Alex's everyday mayhem. First let me start by saying I've been back to school now for two weeks, and so far  I am liking my new 7th graders. Of course,any teacher will tell you, the first month is what we refer to as the "honeymoon period." Come October, the true colors willcome shining through! Secondly, we held a baby shower/picnic cookout type event to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our 2nd child sometime in November. We had the festivities at Wilson Point Park in Middle River and had a really great time with our friends and family. Wilson Point was a really nice place, with a playground right in front of us, a nice walking track, and it was right on the water with a nice breeze through the pavilion most of the day. That breeze was much needed as it is still very humid in B-more this time of year. The kids ran around and went crazy and we feasted on hot dogs and hamburgers, cooked up by our masters chefs, Abe and Dave, and side dishes brought along by everyoneelse. It was reallyan awesome day,and we got lots ofnew clothes for our baby girl. Alex played straight thru nap time and then took a 3 hour nap when he got home. He was so played out! My Mom was able to drive down and attend,which was great. We took her to Red Lobster for the endless shrimp promotion while she was visiting and she was in heaven, since Red Lobster is her favorite place and the closest one to her is an hour drive. Then on Sunday,we relaxed in the morning, and were visited by My Grandma and Aunt who were in Baltimore anyway.They were returning home from their cruise to the Bahamas, Grand Turks, and Caimon Islands. We were able to show them the new baby'sroom and hav lunch before they headed back West again. Okay and last but not least,and then we can get to the pictures--Alex is 18 months old as of yesterday!!! I can't believe how big he is getting. He's starting to talk some, mostly only around us and Ms. Joanna,his daycare provider. He repeats a lot of words,and loves to sing along to tunes he hears.His favorite right now is the ABC song. He kind of sings Abcd, then kind sings the tune for the rest. He goes for his 18 Month check-up on Thursday and I am anxious to see how much height he has gained.I really feellike he has gotten a lot taller in the last few weeks. Okay,thar's it for now. Enjoy the picture from this week. What I didn;t post here will be in an album on my facebook page, so feel free to check that out as well.

Alex with his big cousin Dylan at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium

Mary with her crazy bee sting wound at the state fair

Natalia sitting in the dirt playing with  a stick--so ladylike!

This was too cute! Alex spent most of the day with his BFF Kara, who held his hand and played with him all day long!

Abe grilling up the burgers

Mary changing Julia and Danielle changing Natalia--pavilion style!

All the kids that attended the shower from left: Daniel, Matthew, Dylan, Alex, Euripides, Kara, Julia and Cory--I think we're missing Antonio and Natalia though.

Me, Abe, and the belly at 28 weeks!

Our baby girl's closet after I hung all of the presents and hand-me-downs from Julia up...oh my!

Alex knocked out after a long day