Nursery sneak peek

Baby Frank's crib & dresser/hutch arrived today! We have to wait until the end of August for the glider/ottoman and bookshelf to get here, but I am so excited that this room is starting to feel like a nursery.

We also had another big milestone today...Frank got to feel Baby Frank kick for the first time! I have been feeling his kicks much more frequently, and stronger, the last couple of days, and tonight we went to a movie and Frank was able to feel it for the first time. It was definitely a neat experience! Frank took me to a wonderful italian dinner and to go see Eclipse--I think he gets the husband of the day award! It is so nice having him home.

Getting the house ready for Baby Frank

This week we ordered all of the furniture for the nursery--glider, ottoman, crib, dresser, hutch, bookcase, and side table. Surprisingly, several of the items are in stock and are being delivered on Tuesday! I was prepared for the furniture to take several months to get here, so knowing that the big items are coming this week has prompted me to get moving on several other house projects to get the upstairs ready for Baby Frank. As most of you know, because our bedroom is downstairs, we hardly ever even go upstairs, unless it is to use the treadmill. So we have been using the closets up there for storage and have not done much as far as decorating. I am using the baby as an excuse to clean out all of the closets, get organized, and decorate! This weekend I got to do to the not-so-fun part--cleaning out and organizing the closets. Boy do we have a lot more crap than I realized! However, I am happy to report that I have consolidated all of our stuff into our game/hall closet, and completely cleaned out the closet in the new guest bedroom and the nursery. We also picked out the paint color for the nursery. I brought home four different paint sheets, and, shockingly, Frank and I immediately agreed on the same color. In case anyone is curious, we are going to decorate the nursery in shades of blue, tan, white, and brown. The furniture is all dark brown wood and the walls will by painted a very pale shade of blue. I am so excited to get the room ready and make it fabulous!

Frank is working from home this week, and I am very excited to have him home and get to spend some extra time with him. Our big project for the week is to go register. Hopefully we can agree on strollers and car seats as easy as we agreed on the nursery paint color!

I am still feeling good, and I am trying to take advantage of my extra energy to get stuff done around the house and work out as much as possible. I know that as I get bigger I will start to get more and more uncomfortable, so I am trying to get everything done sooner than later.

San Francisco & Surprise baby showers

I am officially halfway through my pregnancy! I am still feeling great, and finally starting to really show! Frank and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to San Francisco where we visited with friends, went to a spectacular wedding, and had two surprise family baby showers. It was a fantastic visit, but it was way too short as usual! These two pictures are of us on the Egans' deck overlooking the hills of Novato. They have an AMAZING view!

On Saturday we went to Mike Byers' wedding, and it was truly spectacular. There were almost 400 people there, and the wedding was held at the bride's father's home. It was like something straight out of a movie complete with a huge tent filled with 40 tables & a dance floor, a gelato cart, a cigar bar, and state-of-the art port-o-potties. It was a lot of fun, but I was exhausted after about 6 hours of partying and I finally dragged the boys away from the cigar bar and we went home around 11. Thankfully I was the sober driver because there was a sobriety checkpoint on the way back to Seamus & Candice's house.



On Sunday, we went over to Frank's dad's house for a family fourth of july barbque that turned into a surprise baby shower! Frank's dad, his wife Denise, Aunt Rosabella, Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Ron, Uncle Andy, Jonathon, Wilma, and Daniel all planned a great little celebration for Baby Frank. They decorated Jose's house in lots of baby blue, brought a gorgeous cake, and spoiled us with tons of gifts! Baby Frank got his first swim suit, sunglasses, tons of cute clothes, blankets, and toys. And I got a gorgeous baby bag! We had a lot of great food and had a great day catching up with family. We had a fabulous time, and we are so grateful for supportive, excited family & friends. After the shower we went with Jon and Wilma to go watch fireworks. Here are some pics from the baby shower:










On Monday we headed over to Ariela's house for a big breakfast. It was great to see her and catch up before she heads off to Tufts for college in the fall. We are so proud of her, and I can't wait to go visit her in Boston! We then headed to Frank's mom's house for brunch and another surprise baby celebration. Frank's mom invited a bunch of his aunts and uncles, and Frank's sisters Mimi and Stella were also there. It was great to catch up with all of that side of the family, and they are all very excited about the baby too. They also brought a gorgeous, delicious cake, so Baby Frank definitely had his share of sugar this weekend! After the brunch we headed back to the airport and back home to Dallas. We had a fantastic vacation, and we are so thankful for getting to spend time with family! Here are some pictures from brunch at Frank's mom's house.

Mason Joseph

We went to Midland this weekend for Ryon and Sara's gender reveal party to find out if they are having a boy or a girl. Sara is due 3 days after me, so we are both about 19 weeks in this picture. We are super excited (and so are they) that they are having a baby boy!! Mason Joseph will surely be one of Baby Frank's best friends. We are so happy for you guys, and we are so glad that we were able to be there to celebrate your big news! While we were in Midland, Sara and I went to the cutest baby boutique and I bought a couple of things for Baby Frank. It was a great weekend with great friends, but we got back from Midland this afternoon and we are pooped! We are headed to San Francisco next weekend for one of Frank's good friends' from high school wedding and to visit Frank's family. I am definitely looking forward to a three-day weekend!

Here are some pictures from the party this weekend. I still don't know how they managed to keep the secret and not open the envelope for two weeks! I could never have that patience/will power.



Last week we finally got my grandmother's table and chair delivered, and they are absolutely gorgeous. It was a bit of a process to get them here, but I am so happy that I will have family heirlooms in my house, and that they match perfectly with our decor.

I can't believe that I am almost halfway through the pregnancy already...I wish that November would hurry up and get there!

It's a .... BOY! Introducing Frank Edward Bernardo

After what felt like the longest week of my life, we found out today that we are having a baby boy! We both thought that it was going to be a boy, even though everyone else tried to convince us that we were having a girl. The doctor said that the baby looks great and that everything is measuring right on schedule. The heartrate was 150 beats per minute again--looks like the old wive's tales about heart rate and morning sickness were wrong! We are so excited to get the nursery ready and start shopping for some baby blue.

We are going to name the baby Frank Edward Bernardo. Baby Frank will be the fifth Frank in his family, going back to his great, great grandfather, and he will share his middle name with my Dad and my brother.

I can't wait to meet my baby boy!

18 weeks--holy bump!

Holy bump!!! My stomach has definitely grown a bunch in the last couple of weeks. I think I am definitely starting to look pregnant now. I still have not had any strangers make comments to me, and I still have people telling me that I don't look pregnant at all, but in the pictures above I think it is pretty obvious. I am still feeling well, and I can feel Baby B move pretty consistently now. That feeling is very exciting!






Yesterday we went to Amy and Jayson's wedding shower at Amy's parents beautiful home in Montague. They live about two hours north of Dallas, and it is truly beautiful out there. We ate fajitas, played cornhole, and just hung out with all of their family and friends. We drove up there with Amy and Don, and it was great to catch up with them because we had not seen them in a long time.

Tomorrow is the big day--we are headed to the doctor for our 18-week ultrasound to find out if we are having a boy or a girl! A couple brought their 9-day old baby girl to the shower yesterday, and she was absolutely adorable. Pretty much everyone thinks we are having a girl, but we will be excited no matter what. Can't wait to find out!!!

I also want to wish my father and father-in-law a very happy father's day! And I want to wish Frank happy father's day as a father to be. I know that he is going to be an amazing dad, and I can't wait to see him melt when we welcome our little boy or girl into the world.

Flutters

On Tuesday night I felt Baby B move for the first time! It was actually a very strange feeling, and I really did not think that I was feeling the baby. It felt like a muscle spasm/fish swimming around inside me/gas...the sensation really is indescribable. The next day at work I was drinking a diet dr. pepper, and all of the sudden I felt the same sensation. I described the feeling to my co-worker and she told me that it was most likely the baby moving! It is so exciting and crazy to feel that there is a little live being moving around inside of me. I am not looking forward to the jabs and kicks and painful movement that is sure to follow, but it is comforting to know that our little one is squirming around in there!