Rockin' The Bump at 17 Weeks

Almost half way there!

With my first pregnancy, I was doing pretty good at taking baby bump pictures at least once a month.  Well this time, I've let 6 weeks go by since I took a baby bump photo...Ooops!  Mainly because I forget, or I don't feel pretty enough to get behind the camera to have a picture taken of me, or because chasing after a toddler exhausts me by the end of the day...

Yesterday I finally captured my 17 week (and 4 days) bump with baby #2!

Today, after reading Allison's link up post,  I am linking up with Shell over at Things I Can't Say for the first time for her Rockin' The Bump link up!

I have always loved seeing women rock their baby bumps!  Something about having a conversation with a woman knowing there's a little tiny kicking, punching, hiccuping baby in her belly makes me giddy!  I believe that all pregnant women are beautiful!  I mean come on!  What isn't beautiful about carrying the miracle of life inside of you for 9 months?

Well...if you consider the nausea and vomiting, fatigue, outlandish cravings, gas pains and acid indigestion, swelling, dark skin spots, stretch marks, acne...  (Need I go on?)  Those things may not make you feel particularly pretty or wonderful by any means.  But there's a reason that God gave woman this gift.  Because we can handle it.  Because we are capable of having the necessary emotional connection with our baby without having met them yet.  Because we are able to immediately provide nourishment and unconditional love for this being.

It's a beautiful thing.

Baby bumps are beautiful.

Babies are miracles.

Mommies are special.

So Rock Your Bump with pride!

If you're currently rocking a bump or want to go through your old baby bump pictures and relive those precious moments, link up here!  #RockinTheBump

The Color Run 2013

Back in December 2012, I had mentioned here that some friends and I had signed up for "The Happiest 5k On The Planet" aka The Color Run!  I had every intention to train for this event and actually try to run the whole thing, which would've been a first...but one slight...ok major  detail changed that.  Fast forward to May 19, 2013 and the day had come!  The only thing that had changed between December and May was the fact that I got pregnant and was having bad sciatic pain already.  I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to actually run the 5k with my girls, but very luckily, two of my other good friends and had signed up and were planning on walking!  So YAY!  Built in walking buddies!

Fawn, Takia, Christina and I all woke up at the butt crack of dawn, hopped into one car and headed down to Washington D.C. for the day as we were PUMPED to get to do our first Color Run...and do it together!  I was a little apprehensive at how well my back would hold up, because at 10 weeks pregnant, I had done a 5k (with my mom and daughter to help benefit Breast Cancer Research) two weekends before and I was in pain for about a week from it.

Here's a quick shot from that day!

Anyway...at 12 weeks pregnant and just peeking into my 2nd trimester after a very rough 1st trimester, I was ready to take on the challenge and have a BLAST while doing it!

L to R: Me, Christina, Takia, Fawn - Before the race

We arrived about an hour before race time, got to pick up our packets with our Color Run Tshirt, a packet of color powder to throw at someone at your convenience, 2 removable tattoos, your Color Run race number, a sweat band...how thoughtful!  We were ready!  :)

Our plan was to meet my two walking buddies around the start line.  We headed to the there only to find out that you couldn't get any where near it because  you had to wait in line through thousands of people to even see it!  It was insane!  We probably waited in line for about 40-50 minutes.  Met a very nice unicorn who offered to get his picture with us while we waited. :)

We also decided to snap a good bit of "before" shots since we were still nice and clean.

We finally arrived at the start line, I met up with my two walking buddies, Kat and Emily, and Fawn, Takia and Christina took off running and we agreed we would meet up at the finish line!

Here's a picture of Kat and I, before we got to any color

Kat, Emily and I after getting hit with a little orange

We tried to snap some pictures as we went along the course, but no one really wanted to take out our cell phones, because our hands were covered in colored powder and we didn't want to take the chance if it ruining our phones.

Each kilometer you run through you get sprayed with a different color (5 colors total).  By the end of the race, we looked like this:

It was SO MUCH FUN!  The only thing that was not fun to say the least was that my sciatica back pain was beyond throbbing and beyond painful.  I just wanted nothing but Tylenol, a bunch of water, something to eat, and to lay down.  It hurt so bad to get through that race and cross that finish line.  But I needed to.  I came that far, it was planned 5 months in advance, and I had nothing but support from my friends who were there with me!  Just as we came around the last turn and the finish line was in sight, I kicked up my pace and actually managed to jog across the finish line!  Despite my immense pain, I kept a smile on my face.  Fawn snapped a great picture of me as I finished!

Even though my head is half cut off, I still love this picture!

We all had a very busy, fun and personally rewarding day!  So glad I got to share it with some of the girls I love!  I can't wait to do it again and maybe next time with my family of four!  :)

3 Decades and A Smile

I guess I should give myself a post of my own to pin point my celebration of existence for 30 years.

On April 4th, 1983 a little Greek baby girl named Cassandra Marie was born :)
(in case you were wondering...that's me)

On April 4th, 2013, now a wife and a mother, that respectively still young woman is now 30 years old.  I'm sure this makes my parents feel much older than I do (Sorry mom and dad!).  But yes, it's true.  I'm officially 30.

I never had any reserves about aging.  When I first met my husband, he had indirectly taught me how to look at things differently and more positively.  With his help, I've graciously accepted the simple truth that "it's-better-to-grow-older-than-to-die-younger" mindset.  Plus it's Only 30! 

Since we had discovered that we were expecting another baby on April 2, and we had plans to go out to dinner with family on April 6, or so I thought...Justin and I had talked about making an announcement to our close friends and family while we were out to eat.  Well unbeknownst  to me, the actual plan for Saturday April 6, was for me to go out to lunch with my girlfriends and come home to a Surprise Party with my close friends and family there waiting to celebrate with me!

After my girlfriends picked me up at home, we headed out to one of my favorite restaurants, Olive Garden, for lunch!  (No one knew the baby news yet)

Well...since it was my 30th birthday and I usually have at least a glass of wine when we get together and I only ordered water, I figured they would get suspicious.  Finally after everyone ordered and received their drinks, we did a group "Cheers!" to friendship and birthdays and in the midst of all that, I also blurted out "to New Additions!".  Everyone gasped in surprise and cheered as most of them got the insinuation right away.  :)

We headed back to my house (I drove since I have a vehicle that fits all 6 of us) and when I got to my road about 1/4 mile from my house, I saw a lot of people standing outside on the sidewalk on either side of the street.  I thought maybe someone was having a yard sale at first.  Then I saw people were holding signs!  Then I saw the signs all said something about me!!  It was the coolest thing ever to see a bunch of people I know and love holding up a sign that said something about me having a birthday or turning 30!

All of these pretty happy faces were lined up and down the street for me, along with many others!

A huge THANK YOU to my cousin-in-laws, Paige and Sasha, for doing all of these signs that I love so much!

 I was so excited seeing all of these signs as I passed that I probably honked the horn about 50 times within 100 yards!  I pulled in the driveway and just started hugging anyone I could grab! :)  My whole front lawn was filled with people I knew and loved!  It felt as wonderful and special as my wedding day; having so many people in one place because they love me.  Such a great feeling!  Thank You All!

 I walk into my house and it's filled with balloons with ribbon!  Everywhere!  I loved it!

I go into the dining room where I find a yummy looking cake!  (with purple trimmings of course)

Then I'm told there is one more surprise...

And my dad and step mom from New Jersey pop out of our basement door!  Hugs are flying again!

Crazy enough my daughter had slept through all of that commotion (and horn honking), so we woke her up from her nap and put her in her "announcement shirt" and let her walk around to get some reactions out of people.  :)

That day was so much fun, I didn't want it to end!  :)  It was a great way to bring in my 30's and I'm so blessed and lucky to have these people in my life!  A special big "thank you" to my hubby for planning all of this for me, even though we said we wouldn't do something big for my birthday because of funds, but he managed to find a way to make it happen for me anyway because he said I "deserved it".  Thank you, baby!

Love to you all!

Dusting Off The Keyboard For A Big Announcement

It's been way too long since I've blogged and I've missed it.
I miss catching up with blogging friends through reading others' posts and writing comments that are well deserved.  I miss the "me time" that I used to give myself after putting the little one to bed, and typing non stop on the keyboard until I could hardly hold my head up.  I miss putting my thoughts and my family experiences with pictures out on the world wide web (aside from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

It seems as though I lost my "blogging self" for awhile.  I have still written random thoughts into a journal that I have been keeping.  To catch you up a little on what has been going on with me, well that would take more than one post...which it's going to, so bear with me.

Here's the main thing that have been going on with me in the last few months.

Most importantly that definitely needs to be mentioned here on this blog is the biggest change yet that our family of three is going to experience.

We're going to become a family of 4!

Most of you probably have already heard the news in some form of social media or another.  As you may recall on this post and this photo in March, we were just beginning to announce that we were "officially trying" to grow our family.  Well, little did we know at that time...we had already conceived #2.  We definitely didn't expect it to happen so quickly, since Annaliese took 5 months to conceive and even that was fast for us.
So there you have it Blog, we're gonna have a baby! 

2 days before my 30th birthday(April 4th), I took my first pregnancy test

Annaliese is excited to become a Big Sister!  We announced the news to our close friends and family at my Surprise 30th Birthday Party on April 6th.

On April 23rd, we made the grand Facebook announcement.

Tomorrow on June 21, I will be 17 weeks along already.  We are officially due on November 29, which is the day after Thanksgiving.  However, since I delivered almost 2 weeks early with Annaliese ...and on a full moon, I am going to make an educated guess and say that I will probably deliver early with this baby and for kicks, lets just say around the full moon on November 17.  Justin and I are waiting to find out the sex this time and I couldn't be more excited!

Already this pregnancy differs much from my first.  Pretty much ever since I found out I was pregnant...I was sick...all day for over month.  Luckily in mid-May, I found the culprit and switched prenatal vitamins and have been fine ever since!  :)  Also a few weeks ago, I had some really bad dizziness to where I passed out.  Thank God that Justin was here working from home that day because I don't want to know what would've happened in any other case.  I have also had really had sciatica pain very early this time around whereas with my first pregnancy, I didn't get bad back pain until I was over 30 weeks pregnant.  Hoping some physical therapy or chiropractic assistance will help!

So because this has been the main thing going on with us, I figured I would get back on the blogging radar with this announcement, and will be filling in the timeline within the next few posts.  I promise it won't be a month until they happen.  I need to spit them out soon so I can get back onto track with actual current events :)

For those of you who are still around to read this blog, thanks for your patience and support!

XOXOXO,

Dear Annaliese, Today You Are One.

Dear Annaliese Marie,

Just hearing your beautiful name makes my heart race.  Today we celebrate your first birthday.  365 days have gone by since you were born and yet it feels like yesterday.  Mommy and Daddy are crying tears of joy with a tiny bit of sadness, because the reality of life in full force cannot escape us.  You are on your way to becoming a little girl and not so much a baby anymore.

You can turn the page on your own in your bedtime book.  You're getting better at holding a spoon when you eat.  You are already indicating to Daddy and I "no" by shaking your head (this helps us fear the years to come).  Just two weeks ago you took 5 steps on your own, twice!  About one week ago you came up to me with your arms up and said "Mama" for the first time and my heart melted.  When I hand you your comb, you place it on your head, knowing that it's used for brushing your hair.  You get upset when we tell you "no" if you're into something you shouldn't be.  You love to dance, just like your mommy.  You still love your veggies like no tomorrow and are also a huge fan of water from your sippy cup.  You sleep with your teddy bear every night.  You are slowing getting into drinking whole milk.  You try to feed me food with your spoon, and I love that you're already sharing.  You light up with you see other children smiling and laughing and you get upset when we're in the grocery store and you hear other babies cry.

You are already have so much individuality and character.  You make me more and more proud every day.

Let me tell you the story of how you came to be.  On the morning of February 16, 2011, after 5 months of trying to conceive,  I had taken my first pregnancy test with my first ever "+" sign shown.  After 3 days and 4 positive tests later, I decided it was time to call the doctor and schedule an appointment.  On Feb 23 we had our pregnancy confirmation appointment and left the doctor's office feeling like we were on top of the world!  To announce the big news to our family, we made plaques for our parents and our brothers read that they were closer to becoming a grandparent/uncle around my proclaimed due date of Oct 24.  Everyone was so happy for us!  According to calculation, I was still very early in my pregnancy and they didn't do an ultrasound until I was 8 weeks along. SO we waited...

Right after the at-home test said that you existed, I accompanied Daddy on a 2 day drive to Nashville, TN for his work conference in the first week of March.  That whole week, I had a container of Tums with me at all times because you gave me heartburn.  I also tried to drink ginger ale because I was a little nauseous and didn't really have an appetite.  Aside from those minor things, we had a nice road trip together.  While Daddy drove, I read "What To Expect When You're Expecting" out loud and we had conversations about what to expect for the remaining months of my pregnancy, how to handle a newborn baby and how we would parent you when you arrived.  Also on the way home, I experienced my first REAL "laugh till you cry" moment.  Daddy said something really funny and made me laugh (as he always does) but while I was laughing, I started getting teary and then I got so teary that I started sobbing...like CRYING uncontrollably type sobbing.  It was totally the hormones and it was totally weird.  But it was funny after it happened.  :)

Then on March 18, our first ultrasound appointment arrived.  I remember the first time I saw you.  Filled with anticipation and a first time parent's slight worry, Mommy and Daddy drove to the doctor's office and got an ultrasound.  Seeing you on the monitor gave us a breath of fresh air.  You were the tiniest little bean inside of my belly.  We couldn't make out that you were a human yet, but we could see your little arm "waving" at the camera.  We couldn't hear your heartbeat at that point yet, but we were able to see it!  It was euphoric.  I will never forget that feeling.  Your daddy cried tears of joy when he saw you that day.  Mommy was the happiest person in the world, that tears couldn't even show my excitement.

I was ready to spread the wonderful news to everyone else and get a baby bump!

I started to show my lovely baby bump around 15 weeks.  For my "unofficial" first Mother's Day, your very thoughtful Daddy gave me the perfect card gift for an expecting mother.  Of course, I sobbed uncontrollably like a little baby cried.

Around 18 weeks we had a non-medical ultrasound done and found that you were a girl.  This is when Mommy cried.  Somehow I had a sneaking suspicion that you were a girl.  Daddy was in complete shock.  He had always wanted to be a dad and pictured himself being a dad, but anytime he pictured himself as a dad, he pictured having a son.  Daddy and I sat back in that room and watched the ultrasound technician find your sweet face with your daddy's nose, your arms and legs, your 10 fingers and 10 toes and even a little shot of your tush that I love so much! :)  We were in awe of you and enjoyed watching you play peek-a-boo with the camera.  You were a bit camera shy.

We revealed to everyone that you were a girl just days later at your Great Aunt and Uncle's Memorial Day picnic.  Daddy wore blue and mommy wore pink and blue to throw people off.  Haha!  We had a cake made and dyed pink inside so that when we cut into it, it would reveal that you were a girl!  It was so much fun seeing everyone's face anxious with anticipation and their excitement come to life when they saw the pink cake! :)  We had a lot of fun doing it this way!

Silly Parents- To- Be

I consider myself lucky because you were very easy on Mommy through my whole pregnancy and I appreciated it.  I thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant with you!  I was only nauseous while we were in TN, after that I was enjoying eating strawberries like the world would be out of them tomorrow, chocolate chip granola bars and apples with peanut butter.  I had eaten each of these probably at least once a day.  Although I LOVE seafood prior to (and since) my pregnancy, it made me nauseous when I was pregnant.  So I wonder if you will grow to not like seafood?  I hope this isn't the case because you'll really be missing out!

I was in LOVE with my baby bump!  I loved showing you off any chance I could.  I miss my bump, but eventually within a few years I will have another bump and you'll be welcoming a new baby brother or sister.

 We had some really great maternity pictures taken when I was 30 weeks pregnant with you.

We even had shirts ordered with your name on them!

This was the last belly picture taken before I gave birth 7 days later

Then in the midst of a full moon on the evening of October 11, 2011, you arrived.  When the doctor placed you on my belly to wipe you down, I still could not believe what had just happened.  Suddenly you went from being warm, quiet and protected inside my belly to seeing and hearing you in person and feeling your touch on the outside of my belly.  All of the events that happened that day went by in what felt like minutes and there you were.  The little kicker that kept me awake some nights and would roll around into my ribs and push so hard on my belly from the inside.  It was painful sometimes, but those contractions...yeah those were a lot worse.  I did it all for you and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

At 5 lb 15 oz, You were the tiniest baby I had ever held.  You were the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on...and still are.

Today we celebrate your First Birthday.  It's really amazing how much you have taught me in the last year and I know the train won't stop here.  You are such a special little person to me and your daddy.  You are loved by so many people and it is so heart warming that you, your daddy and me...we are so very blessed to have all of that love in our lives and that is all that I could have ever asked for.


You are the center of Mommy and Daddy's world.

You are very independent and love to do things on your own.

You are always so joyful and smiling.  You will randomly laugh at things and it makes me laugh.

You love to go for walks and look at the trees.

You LOVE trees!

You love to play peek-a-boo with Mommy and Daddy and "chase us" around the house.

 You love to play "Pat-a-Cake" with Mommy at least twice a day, sometimes ten.

You give Mommy and Daddy the sweetest kisses that just make all of our worries melt away.

 You love when Mommy and Daddy make a fool of ourselves trying to make you laugh.  It usually works, and well.

You have the most bold and beautiful blue-ish/grey-ish eyes I've ever seen.  Neither Mommy or Daddy have blue eyes, so we believe this is just one of the many things that makes you extra special.

Photo Credit for these family pictures goes to Double Shutter Photography

This last week you have been extra cuddly with me and although I know it's due to you cutting more teeth, in addition to the 8 teeth that you already have, I love those cuddles and I can't get enough.  I hear my friends with kids tell me all the time that when you get a certain age you won't really want to cuddle anymore, so I am soaking up all the cuddles I can while I can.  I still enjoy being home with you everyday, watching you grow and develop into your own little person.  I think I kiss you at least a thousand times a day and you love it just as much as I do.  I love nothing more than to make you laugh!  You are my little buddy and Daddy and I would be lost without you.  You bring such joy to our lives every day and in every way.  We know how blessed and honored we are to have you.  I am excited to know that you will soon be talking more and fully walking soon and be able to play more.  I'm in love with you for giving me greatest gift you and only you have given me; motherhood.

I plan to do a LOT of hugging you and a LOT of kissing you today, your day, your very first birthday.

Happy Birthday, Annaliese! aka Bug, Buggy, Anna Bug, Sweetie, Pumpkin