Showering Baby Liliana

This week I had two wonderful baby "sprinkle" showers for Baby Liliana.  My boss and some coworkers threw me a beautiful shower on Thursday at the Dallas Chophouse.  We had yummy appetizers, wine, and delicious donuts for dessert.  Some of the women I work with went absolutely nuts buying PINK baby girl clothes, and I loved it!  There was lots of pink, lots of ruffles, and lots of itty bitty baby accessories.  One of my friends also bought a gift for Frankie, which he loved.

On Saturday, a few of my friends in Houston threw a sprinkle at the Bird and the Bear Bistro, which is a chic restaurant in Houston.  Again, Baby Liliana got lots of adorable baby clothes, and we also got the chandelier for her room and a big g/c to Babys R Us so that we can buy any other baby gear we need.  It was so great to catch up with friends, and I found out that my friend Erin is pregnant!  So, baby girl has a ton of clothes now...but her closet is so full of stuff that I can't hang any of them up yet.  We really need the nursery furniture to arrive so that we can organize her room! 

Here are some pictures from the Houston shower:

delicious cupcakes

sisters!

Mom & Grandma

lots of baby polo stuff

so cute

Katie, Corey, and my Mom

me and one of the hostesses

Allison and Diana

three pregnant ladies!  Due in:  October, May, and June

pretty flower arrangements

designer baby gear

34 weeks--looking pretty HUGE!

so close

cheese!

Fun with friends

This weekend we spent a lot of time enjoying the company of good friends.  Ryon and Sara were in town for the first time since last July, and we met up with their family and Daniel and Kristi on Friday night at Hard 8.  We had a great time eating barbeque, catching up, and listening to live music.  The boys had a blast running around the restaurant and going up on stage with the band.  On Saturday morning we headed to Highland Park for sweet Ms. Lucy's 3rd birthday party!  Frankie had fun playing on the playground and eating ice cream.  We went straight from the party over to the Walsh house for a cookout.  The weather was gorgeous, and we all spent most of the day outside watching Frankie and Mason run around, play, and then get mad at each other.  It was so cute to watch those two boys together.  The girls put together a wonderful basket of baby girl goodies for Baby Liliana, which was a very sweet surprise.  Our group has five kids and two babies on the way--soon the children will outnumber the adults!  I worked for most of the day on Sunday, but we did manage to sneak away in the afternoon to meet up with the Manktelow family at Love and War to watch Max Stalling.  Frank and I got to dance, and Frankie danced with Maddy!  So adorable.  Here are the few pictures I took this weekend:

Frankie and Mason, double trouble

beautiful day with great friends

Frankie & Frank at Love & War

Dancing with Maddy

Bluebonnets

This weekend we happened upon a gorgeous field of bluebonnets and took a few pictures.  Frankie saw the field and it was so blue that he thought it was water!  He had a great time wandering through the sea of bluebonnets, and we got some great pictures!

32 week doctor's appointment

I can't believe that we are already doing appointments every two weeks!  I went in for my 32-week checkup today, and we had another ultrasound to check the baby's growth.  Apparently, this baby recently had a growth spurt.  The ultrasound tech told me that the baby's abdomen is measuring 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule and that the baby is estimated to weigh 5 lbs already!  The first thing my doctor said when she saw me was "what have you been eating?"  Of course that now has me a bit paranoid and thinking that I should try to limit my dessert intake, even though my doctor assured me that the two were not correlated whatsoever.  My doctor was not too concerned about the baby's big tummy and said that my stomach was actually measuring a week behind and that the baby did not feel too big to her.  But, we are going to do another growth ultrasound next visit to make sure that this baby is not huge.  Everything else looked great, and we confirmed (again) that baby is still a girl.  I asked the doctor again about my frequent conractions, and she told me that they are really just annoying and that I should not worry unless I experience bleeding, pain, or if they do not stop after laying down.  They have subsided a lot since last week, and hopefully this trend will continue.

As far as pregnancy symptoms go...I have not had any sciatic pain this pregnancy--knock on wood--which is awesome!  Right now my most annoying symptom is hip pain at night.  I sleep on my side, and approximately every 30 minutes or so I wake up because my hip hurts and have to switch sides.  I think the baby is moving both my hips and my ribs right now becasue there is just not enough room for her!  Other than this discomfort, I am feeling pretty good.  I get really tired every three or four days, usually after I have been working too much, but generally I am not too tired.  I have also been having some minor heartburn, but only when I eat something really spicy or something with tomato sauce.  We had the nursery painted last week, and it looks AWESOME!  I cannot wait for the furniture to arrive so that I can start to decorate.

Love my boys

These boys left me this weekend to go out to a friend's ranch in West Texas and have some good Daddy-son bonding time and give me some good time to work and relax.  I miss them so much already!  I love watching the bond between Frank and Frankie grow.  Frank is really hard on Frankie, but he also has so much love to give him.  He feels like he missed out on a lot of father-son experiences because his parents got divorced when he was really young, and he wants to make sure to give Frankie all of those experiences he did not get.  His fondest memories with his Dad are of camping, fishing, and being outdoors, and he cannot wait to start doing those things with Frankie. 

Stress mess

I have been having a ton of braxton hicks contractions lately, mostly when I am sitting at my desk at work.  Yesterday, they were coming very frequently, almost non-stop really, from about 2:00 p.m. until I went to bed at 8:30 p.m.  They are not painful, just uncomfortable.  They did not stop until I was able to lay down on my left side and relax.  I think these contractions are directly related to my stress level.  I am back at work this morning, and they have started back up again.  It makes me a little nervous, but what choice do I have?  I may try to leave early and do some work from home, but I am so incredibly busy right now, with stressful assignments, so I really don't have the luxury of much (any) time to relax.  Don't these people know that a 31-weeks-pregnant woman needs a break?!?  Only 44 working days until maternity leave starts....not that I am counting.  I am trying my best to have patience, to have faith, and to think positively.  Frank is taking Frankie out of town this weekend so that I can get a lot of work done, and also hopefully be able to sleep in and relax some.  I worked a lot last weekend and 10-12 hour days every day so far this week, and I think it is taking a toll on my poor body.

30 weeks doctor appointment

I went to my doctor this morning for my 30-week appointment, and it went very well.  I only gained two pounds in the last month, which was a big relief after last month's huge weight gain! Baby is measuring and sounding great.  My doctor gave me a prescription to help fight this cold that I have now had for 18 days, and she recommended that I should not fly anymore until delivery since it seems that flying puts too much stress on my body, and why risk it if it is not necessary.  I start going every two weeks now, and I will get another ultrasound next appointment just to make sure she is still a girl.