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

Hot..Hot..and More Hot--Oh Yeah and Our First Anniversary!

Anyone else think it is ridiculously hot outside? Maybe I have just forgotten how hot August is, or maybe it's because I am 6 months pregnant, but I am hating the weather right now with a passion. I don't even want to be outside for 5 minutes. Seriously, why can't it just stay 75 year round in Balitmore? That aside, nothing too crazy going on here last week. We truly are in those last lazy, hazy days of summer (I go back to work in 2 weeks!). Probably the most exciting thing about this week is Abe and I are celebrating our first anniversary today! Our true anniversary is 9/21/07, but our wedding anniversary is 8/10/08, so that's today. No plans really, we'll probably just go to a cheap dinner tonight and take Alex with us! LOL. I think we are planning on combining both anniversaries in September and going to our favorite place downtown--Fogo de Chao! I get the 28th off for Yom Kippur, so we'll probably go then while Alex is in daycare. The house is coming along. We have been cleaning, and reorganizing like crazy to prepare for our daughter's arrival, and we plan on painting her room tomorrow when Alex is in daycare and Abe has a day off. What color, you ask? We'll post pictures when it's done, until then--you'll have to wait! :)

I pulled out my bins to do some scrapbooking (I am trying to complete Alex's first year,before I have another one to work on) and our little tree frog decided to scale them!

We got Alex a new toy (well we pulled one out we were saving for Christmas) since he was such a good boy while we were doing all of our cleaning and re-organizing.

                     All of the cousins--It's not easy  to get a pic of these 5!

Alex is 17 Months Old!

Alex will be 17 Months old tomorrow! I can't believe almost a year and half has flown by so fast! He's really starting to be more independant and his communication is making definite improvements. He's now clearly saying several words,though mostly still just around Abe and I. His favorite word and the one that seems easiest for him to say is "uh oh!" He says it everytime he drops something, or throws something. It's too funny! He also says "go" alot, mainly because he loves to be outside and always wants to go out. He babbles continuously throughout the day and is probably saying a lot of things we're still unable to decipher. He also sings now. He just hums all day long! LOL. He's gotten much better at climbing and running as well. We're amazed at how he can run on those skinny little legs he has! The newest thing he'sreally into is dancing. He's been mocing to music for a long time now, but recently he actually stands and moves his whole body and  giggles while he's doing it. He's growing too! He's finally starting to wear 24 mos. sized clothing and has gone up to a size 6 shoe. We can't believe how big our little man is getting! Here are some pictures of him at 17 Months..well just short of 17 months!

Alex's new favorite thing is taking stuff apart and putting it back together--here he is with the remote and a pen, both of which he disassembled.

He doesnt show it off much, but look at this smile! 7 More teeth and he'll have a full set!

Watch out--he's driving with a sippy sup in his hand!

Like a true man, he had to stop and watch the garbage truck before continuing to play!

Dutch Wonderland Adventures

On Monday everyone took some time off of work and we traveled with the whole family to Dutch Wonderland Theme Park,and Kitchen Kettle Village in Lancaster, PA which is about an hour and a half away from us. We arrived right as they opened the gates at 10 AM, and went to the water park first. Alex loved this part of the park, as did all of the kids, because it was so hot outside and they had so many little water sprinklers and slides for older kids. Alex started out in the toddler area, and played in their big sand castle water sprinkler for awhile,before exploring some other areas then eventually just running around enjoying his freedom! LOL. Dylan and Daniel coaxed their Uncle David and Uncle Abe to go down some huge tunnel slides with them,and I think Uncle David was fine, but I'm sure their Uncle Abe didn't want a part of those again! I wanted to go down them so bad, couldn't because of being pregnant---definitely next summer though! :) After eating lunch,which was delivered to our cabana Mary rented (Great idea if you're heading to DW anytime soon!) We went with Mary and Dave and took Alex, Julia, and Matthew to the rides. Matthew went right for the rides,but since the two toddlers were missing a naptime, both fell asleep in their strollers before they could really get on much. Once Alex woke up though,we were able to take him on some rides. His favorite was the boats that he could pretend to drive. He loved those,and we went on 3 times! That night we ate dinner at an awesome buffet,where they served home cooked food--it actually reminded me of my Mom and Grandma's cooking. The next day we went to a viallage called Kitchen Kettle Village,where they had shops, buggy rides,and a petting zoo. Alex enjoyed the petting zoo,and just strolling around the shops. When we came home Tuesday, we realized we have less than 4 months before our daughter arrives,so we have started kicking it into high gear to get her room ready and get the house ready--it's one thing after another! Enjoy some of our shots from DW!

Alex playing on a water sprinkler

Abe and Daniel with his wounded elbow

With his Auntie Maria

Julia and Alex napping in their strollers

Dylan,Daniel, Matthew,Medy holding Julia and Abe holding Alex

Alex looking at the chickens

Dylan was such a good helper with Alex--he held his hand for us everytime Alex wanted to walk

Happy 1st Birthday Julia Grace!

We've had quite a lot of birthday fun in July, but our last birthday party of the month was our most special. Our niece Julia turned 1 on July 16th and we celebrated her special day on Saturday with a party at her house. She looked too adorble in her little pink dress and was cruising and crawling all over the place. We started the party by eating of course! Abe and I fed Alex and Julia and then got plates of our own. There was an assortment of finger foods, hamburgers, hot dogs, pansit, etc. There also was crabs, but the baby wasn't feeling crabs on Saturday, so I didn't have any myself. LOL. There was also birthday cake of course. She had a cute pink and purple cake with a Precious Moments topper. She also got a lot of nice presents! We got her some fall clothes and pajamas, a soft doll, and a hair accesory organizer. I actually liked the organizer so much, I think I may go back to Target and get one for our soon to be daughter! I know she'll end up with tons of hair accesories as well, so I might just have to get a head start! Speaking of our new baby, we are making plans to change our office into her room sometime in August. We've yet to really do anything to make the switch, but we have a plan at least and thinking of doing it in August before I go back to work. We're moving the desk into our bedroom, the bookcase downstairs and putting the crib and rocker into the room. We're planning on painting it either a light pink or a light purple, depending on the bedding we find. It's so weird getting ready for a girl, when we're so used to everything boy! Anyway, I can't believe Julia is 1 already! She's getting so big, so fast! And I can't believe we'll have another baby here in about 4 months! Below ae some pictures from the party. Enjoy!

The birthday girl in her beautiful dress!

Her cake!

Alex and Julia playing together at the party

Renee, Lola, Dylan, Daniel, and Alex with their pink party hats on!

Abe, Alex and I with our winnings--that's right our family swept the candy guessing contest!

Abe and Matthew

 

 

Gymboree and More Birthday Fun!

Alex had his first class at Gymboree Play and Learn on Saturday, and he LOVED it! We've been looking around for awhile now for a program for him to participate in, and finally after taking him to a Gymnastics class that was way too structured and looking into another toddler gym that was way too early in the morning (8:15--Yikes! Alex is a late sleeper, like his parents:) and kind of far, we settled on Gymboree in Nottingham which is about 15 minutes from us. He is a Level 4, which is the age range of 16 mos-23 mos. The teacher allowed a lot of time for free play and tried to do some little songs and bubbles and parachute time, but with kids that age, they would run away and do what they wanted to most of the time! Alex actually did sit on my lap for the songs and the parachute game. His favorite part was their ball collection and basketball hoop. He loved playing with all of the different balls. He also really liked climbing up and down some of the structures too, and we were amazed at how well he could actually do that. He surprised us! We also attended a birthday party for a friend of mine's daughter Natalia. She turned 1 on July 10. She and Alex played well together, though she was so much more social than him! He was so shy at first, as usual, but warmed up after a little bit and played with her. She looked so cute in her little dress and hair bow, and it reminded Abe and I of how fun a girl is going to be for us, although I think  Abe is a little concerned about the hair bows and putting them in right..LOL. Enjoy the pics from this week!

Climbing at Gymboree

Climbing to the top with Daddy's help...he could do it by himself by the end!

Big smile with Daddy

He was being a "big  helper" and helping me wrap Natalia's gift--by sitting on it of course!

Alex and Natalia playing together with one of her toys

The cute little birthday girl

We have a little drummer on our hands

Using a fork to eat his scrambled eggs..he's starting to use utensils now!