My ETSY favorites!

Okay, I know a lot of you have been online and looked through all the great Etsy shops (if you haven't, you must!).  But there are a few that I just keep going back to.

1.  My favorite is Gracie May!!  What girl doesn't love a cute pair of shoes?  But in miniature?!  I am in

     love with these!

     Here's the link:  http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=gracious+may&page=1







2.  Another cute Etsy store is Growing up Wild.  I love the simplicity of all the items and the use of organic, environmentally friendly practices of this store.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/GrowingUpWild?page=4



Warm Biscuit is a website that contains many cute, vintage-like fabrics that you could use for everything.  Plus, the site sells adorable children's gifts.  Check out the website for Warm Biscuit:  http://warmbiscuit.com/

Okay, so there are my picks for online shopping!  I wish I had the time and creative talent to make the things these people do.  But since I don't, I'll just buy them =)

24 Weeks

So....we are hitting 6 months now! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is really moving along. I'm still feeling great with lots of energy. This weekend we were busy with friends and went to the Matisyahu concert in Boston. We had such a fun weekend but ended up staying up past 1:00 am on both Friday and Saturday nights. We definitely feel too old to be doing that on back-to-back nights!

The weather here on the Cape has been fabulous. We took advantage of it and spent some time outside, had lunch in Woods Hole, did some yard work, and even got the nursery painted. I can't wait to see Eliie's room all finished. These projects are really getting us so excited to meet our baby girl!

She's still moving around quite a bit. Now she's measuring about 1.5 pounds and still a foot long. The only symptoms I've had lately are the occasional leg cramps at night. I've been doing my best to drink more water at bedtime and trying not to sleep on my right side. Overall, I can't complain. I've been blessed with a great pregnancy!

Sorry-the shadows don't really make this that great of a picture, but you get the idea!

Happy Father's Day- 23 Weeks.

Happy Father's Day! It was a gorgeous Cape Cod weekend, and a busy one at that. On Friday we went to our friends' Jimmy Buffet party. There were tons of people, music, and great food. I wish I would have taken pictures because the ice sculpture, tiki bars, and decorations were incredible! We had a great time!

Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine outside doing some yard work. We then put together baby furniture and painted sample colors on the wall. I also decided on fabrics for the baby bedding that my mom's going to make. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is complete! Getting the nursery together is so much fun.

Getting some fabric together for the nursery

We wrapped up the day by having dinner at the Brazilian Grill with some friends. The food there is delicious! But the amount of meat turns me off so I always just stick with the salad bar which has a huge selection of everything!

Today we spent Father's Day at the beach (my favorite part of summer!).  It was a beautiful, sunny day.  It's not unbearably humid or hot yet which is more than ok by me.  I'd love to keep this weather around for the rest of the summer, especially as Ellie keeps growing!  In a couple of days I go back for another routine check at the OB's office.  I can't wait to hear her heart beat again.  In the meantime, I'm keeping busy with this onset of nesting =)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and dads-to-be!!!!

Baby moon: 22 Weeks!

22 weeks at Atlantis- Bahamas

The time of my life.... That's the only way to explain the last two weeks. The second half of our Babymoon took us to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Everyone here is so friendly and happy! Makes me want to stay forever!

Marina Village...unbelievable yachts!

Incredible grounds

For everyone who hasn't been, Atlantis is AMAZING!! There is so much to do right here on the resort grounds, let alone all the other excursions, shopping, etc that you can do on the island. Our first day here we spent at the pools, lazy rivers, and water slides. Well, Dave did the slides, I didn't dare with baby on board. We also saw some fish at the aquarium, went on a water ride through a shark tank, and of course ate some incredible food.

View from the Mayan Temple

Just got done with a high speed slide- happy boy! 

Ellie girl must be having a good time too because she's been rocking and rolling with me. I love feeling her little moves throughout the day. Here are her specs:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is
starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming
more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums.(babycenter.com)

Atlantis- 2011

Baby moon: 21 Weeks!

I'm officially past the half way mark of the pregnancy! In addition to that excitement Daddy Dave graduated with his Associate's of Science degree from Vincennes University via the Coast Guard. About 20 other Coasties graduated with him at a nice ceremony on base.

To celebrate his accomplishment, my birthday, and one last hurrah before Ellie arrives we decided to take a nice, tropical vacation to Puerto Rico and then the Bahamas. We are so, so excited to be able to get away and just unwind for 10 days! I'm actually writing This update in the Orlando airport and will post it later with pictures.

21 weeks in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

View from our hotel room in Rincon, Puerto Rico

Amazing rock formations at the Steps Beach

Hiking down to Surfers Beach

Surfers Beach, all to ourselves!





Beautiful Poinciana Trees

Group dinner in Rincon

Baby wise, there's a lot of growing going on. People are beginning to notice the bump, although I still feel like I just look a little chubby through the midsection unless I'm wearing a fitted shirt. :) She's now the size of a small melon (which I think is crazy) !! No wonder my bladder has started to scream at me every few hours! And, she is now swallowing. Some research says that her taste buds can pick up the taste of the foods I eat. I'm hoping she won't give us any grief over all the veggies and fruits then!

On Sunday, June 5th, after a nice overnight trip to Rincon, Puerto Rico, Dave and I were getting ready for bed when Ellie girl started moving around in my belly. She was going to town for about a good 5-6 minutes. That was the perfect opportunity to see if Dave could feel her and he did! It was such an exciting moment for the both of us! We love you sweet girl. Can't wait to meet you in October!!!!





Memorial Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  The start to a busy Cape Cod summer has officially begun.  This is clearly indicated by the massive amounts of traffic from all the seasonal visitors, which is obnoxious for the first couple weeks but then you just learn to adapt and change your driving patterns/times.  =)

We've had a busy weekend ourselves.  We started off registering for the many things Ellie will need once she's here!  It was way faster and easier than I thought it would be.  Of course, I'm thinking we went overboard, but that's okay.  It was so fun seeing all the other moms there with their bellies and getting advice on different products.  Dave was a trooper, as he always is, and really put in his two cents about what we needed to register for. 

We definitely took advantage of this prime parking spot!



Next up was the Feet, Fins, and Flippers 5K race along the Canal.  It was quite cloudy and foggy out but it was nice to get out and participate in it anyway.  Dave ran the race with his "brother" Dave and Lisa.  My girlfriend Dena was nice enough to walk it with me with our pups.  Stella and Niko did so great!!!

Myself, Lisa, and Dena

Dave and Dave

Stella and Niko walking the 5K

After the 5K we met up with our friends the Pieroways at Marina Bay for some boating!  It turned out to be an incredible day on the water.  It felt so good to get the water breeze and sun on my skin.  We ended up anchoring out with another boat and just hanging out, grilling, laughing (there's always a lot of that) and just enjoying the start of summer.

Aunt Sue, myslef, Jess, and Boston Half-Marathon finisher Momma Marie!

Classic Dave

Captain Matt and his first mate Jess (we all love her!)

I'll wrap this up because I have some organizing and packing to do before our trip this week.  Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!  

19 Weeks and IT'S A GIRL!

So every week I check on the progress of little Ellie Reese by reading updates on various sites such as What to Expect and Baby Center. I wanted to share this post with all of you because it absolutely cracked me up!!!



FOR YOU
Belly laugh: Count your blessings
The penis of a rhinoceros is 2 feet long.
The penis of a mosquito is a hundredth of an inch long.
The praying mantis bites her mate's head off while he impregnates her.
Elephants are pregnant for two years.
Many animals give birth to a dozen or more babies at a time.
Your baby won't be born with hooves.
(babycenter.com)

So, basically, we've got it pretty good!

18 weeks

Two weeks ago we went to an ultrasound and our little girl was quiet and comfortable as can be. We didn't get many good pictures due to her positioning. We went back last week and were able to get some good profile pictures but she was still pretty calm. Fellow nurses and Mommas say that might mean she's a calm baby.....I'd love that! No doubt her dad could probably get her riled up, but for me calm would be great!



19 weeks

19 weeks

Daddy Dave is getting into the girl spirit. He did some shopping for her last weekend and it was his idea to pick out her "coming home" outfit. So cute!

Even Niko is getting quite curious about all the stuff that is showing up!

First Teddy from Hillary and Rich Pieroway and a plaque we painted at Color Me Mine to put in Ellie's nursery.

She is measuring at about 9 oz and 7 inches. Her sensory abilities are becoming intact so there's been a lot of talking to her :). I really, really, can't wait to see her! Every little change going on in there is so exciting and truly a miracle.



19 weeks!