25 weeks

We are moving right along; another week has flown by. This week, Baby E is gaining a sense of equilibrium and learning to distinguish right side up from upside down. She is very active and I am loving watching my belly move. In the evenings, she is most active and I could just stare at my belly for hours.

Swelling continues. I can no longer wear my wedding rings. I kept squeezing them on every day but finally gave up that battle. My mom had to have her rings cut off when she was pregnant with me, so I decided to stop wearing mine. I had Matt get out my great great grandmother's ring from the safe. It is a bit bigger and I hate walking around with a big belly and no ring on!

Apparently my face has started to swell. People just don't filter what they say! I had about 12 people comment this week on my "chubby cheeks". That is exactly what a pregnant girl wants to hear. Also, I had a pharmacist ask me if I had collagen injected into my lips! Really?!?! Because that is exactly what every pregnant woman wants to do...inject more fat into her body! Seriously people.

I bought compression knee highs to wear to work. I will wear them tomorrow for the first time. We shall see if they help. Matt can't decide which is sexier...compression knee highs or cankles (pics to come)!!

Happy Memorial Day

We have been very productive this weekend. Since this house was a foreclosure, the yard needs a lot of TLC. It had not been tended to for quite some time before we bought it. Parts of the yard are coming to life with just water, but others may need replacing. This weekend we worked on some of the flower beds. Of course, grass is growing in the flower beds...where we DON'T want it. As well as weeds. Matt has been working hard on bringing some life to our palms. Most of them look great, but one may need replacing. We cleaned out the beds, planted some smaller plants, and then spread lava rocks. Doesn't sound like much, but in this heat, we only worked in the afternoons. I am loving working outside and enjoying the fresh air. Eventhough it is 90 degrees, we have a great breeze off the water. Plus, I got some much needed sun!

Clearing out the weeds and overgrown grass

Need to replace this palm, still deciding on a replacement tree.

Panama Jack killing the weeds!

Starting to look much better!

Swollen (and dirty) feet after working in the yard!



In the mornings, Matt had another project. He got these science lab cabinets from a construction project my dad is working on. They were tan and blue (like the upper cabinet), so Matt decided to paint them Black & Red!! Here is a pic of the project.

Week 24...6 months!

I can't believe we have reached the 6 month mark! Baby E is super active and her skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. Also her newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow.

The top half of my belly button has popped out. It looks so funny when I look down. This is what I look at...

I am still having ankle swelling and now my right foot is numb. That is apparently a side effect of sciatica. Other than that, doing great, so I won't complain!

The Prince Family goes to Disney!

Matt's sister, Laurel, and her family took their first trip to Disney. Mollie will be 3 next month and her favorite show is Mickey Mouse Club House, so she was very excited to see all of the characters. Her favorite, though, is Daisy!
On their way down, they stayed with us for a night. It was a good trial run to see how we need to baby proof the house! Carson is 10 months old and a great crawler...especially up the stairs. The Prince Family then headed to Orlando and spent the first day at Sea World. I went down on Friday and picked up Carson so they could spend the day at Magic Kingdom with Mollie. She even got to have dinner with the Disney Princesses! My mom and I enjoyed spending 2 days with Carson. He is such a sweet baby and a pleasure to be around. He was along for the ride as we shopped in the mornings. Then we would lounge by the pool in the afternoons. He loved splashing in the water and clapping together the stackable cups.


Carson, 10 mos, playing by the pool

 On Saturday night, I joined them for dinner at Downtown Disney. I loved getting to spend time with them and the kids are a lot of fun. I see another Disney trip with them in the future...once Baby E is old enough. Here are some cute pics I snapped of the kids.

Mollie, 2 years 11 mos

Mollie showing me how Goofy dances!

Love this outfit!

Sibling love!

Week 23

This past week brought on some new events: more acid reflux, swollen ankles, and blood in my urine.  My ankles only swelled one night, but it was pretty weird looking. I am now trying to put my feet up more. Then this morning I woke up with a sharp pain in my side and noticed blood in my urine. The perk of working in urology, I was able to test my urine at work, which confirmed the blood, and then have an ultrasound to rule out kidney stones. Kidney stones are really common in pregnant women, but luckily, the ultrasound showed no signs of stones. They are now culturing my urine. Hopefully it is just a UTI. I have been pushing even more water than normal and cranberry juice.

Our biggest milestone this week...Matt felt the baby kick! We were actually at TPC when she consistently kept kicking in the same spot. I was so excited that Matt finally got to feel her kick, and so was he!

So, this starts Week 23. These weeks are just flying by. I started washing Baby E's clothes. We have received so many precious outfits from my friend Jami. She has 2 littles girls, Sophia and Abby, and Jami has generously passed along their clothes. Not to mention the clothes I have bought (don't read that line Matt!). It was fun washing the little items and folding them, well, trying to fold them! I will get better at it! I also went to Babies R Us with Christy and Jami and started my registry. That was very overwhleming. I also had a "phone conference" with my friend Sarah. I have learned that every mommy is different. All 3 girls had very different opinions on EVERYTHING!! So I took what they said and tried to register anyway!

This is my friend Nicole. She is due with a baby boy, Declan, 6 days before me. It has been fun having a friend at the same stages as me through this pregnancy. This is her second child and she has been a big help, support, and provided much guidance. After registering, she reviewed my registry online and then gave me more tips and advice. We are really excited to be starting sewing lessons together later this month. We can't wait and have BIG plans and project ideas!



The Players Championship (TPC)

It has become an annual event among our friends to go to the TPC golf tournament. Our friends, Rod & Jen, host a brunch every year to start off the day. They live close to the course, so after brunch, we walk over to the tournament. We hadn't seen a lot of our friends in a while since we have been so busy with the move, so it was really nice to catch up with everyone. We enjoyed an awesome meal and then tried to get to the course before the rain set in. We weren't quite successful. Our destination was in site, but the rain started to pour down. I actually had to pick up the pace to a light jog or else I was going to get drenched.  The rain brought hail and the tournament was put on hold for over 3 hours. We sat in the "Turn" (a covered tent with food and drinks) and socialized until the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful evening and we actually got to enjoy a little bit of golf before heading home.

Hotess Jen & Host Rod!

22 weeks

Baby E is now the size of a papaya. The books say she should be settling into a sleep cycle of about 12-14 hours a day. It is so true!! I feel her kicking early morning as I am getting ready for work and then not much else during the day. She starts up again about 8-9pm, especially when I am settling down to go to sleep.

I had a doctors appointment last week and everything looks good. My belly measures 1 week small, but the doctor was not concerned about that. She said Baby E is probably a petite little girl! I have gained 12 pounds and feel good. Started with some indigestion this weekend, but heartburn is nothing new for me! Next appointment, I have to do the glucose tolerance test! Yuck!

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day, Cubbie dug me a hole in the yard. So sweet of him!! As Matt's gift to me, he got to bathe Cubbie. What a mess!

The Gomulinski Boys

My cousin Jennifer has 2 little boys, Branden and Jake. Jake is my Godson and soooo funny! He is 3 years old and such a character! He was very entertaining this weekend and I caught a few of those moments on camera. While eating his cake at lunch, he asked me to take his picture so he could see what he looked like! His older brother Branden can be shy, but boy oh boy, he came out of his shell this weekend too and had me in stitches! After lunch he looked at my dad and said "Let's go Pops!".  No one has ever called my dad "Pops". We aren't sure where Branden got that, but we were all laughing!!
I wish I could see all of my little (and big) cousins more often.



Braden surprised Aunt Lynda with a BIG smooch on the cheek!



Sean's First Holy Communion

This weekend, I drove to Orlando and then rode with my parents to South Florida for my cousin's First Holy Communion. Sean is in the second grade at St. Mark's Catholic School and made his First Communion with his class. It was a beautiful mass and the children looked so angelic all dressed in white. They performed a song with sign language at the end of mass. Sean was so excited to have family and friends gathered for his big day. Afterwards, we went to a nice lunch at Brio. All of the little cousins had fun, as usual, playing and being silly. Soon, there will be another little one to add to the bunch. Finally, though, a little girl!



Branden 5, Jake 3, Sean 7, Crystal 13



Cubbie and Baby E!

Since Baby E is the size of a banana this week, I decided to take a picture of Cubbie with a banana for comparison. What will Cubbie think of his little sister? We aren't sure, but he doesn't have much of a choice. He seemed to like Little Palmer and Carson last night when they came over to play.

21 weeks, moving right along.

Another week just flew by. I can't believe how quickly this is all going. I really feel like I am sticking out now and can't sleep on my stomach anymore. Sleep...what is that?!?! I now wake up screaming with charlie horses. Good grief...that is not fun. The first time I woke up screaming, Matt slept through the whole thing! I woke him up and told him he has a pregnant wife and will have a newborn soon. If something screams, he needs to wake up!! He now wakes up and last night rubbed my leg. Last night's episode was the worst and my calf is still sore today. Plus, Cubbie is now sleeping with us. He has never slept with us before, but since moving into the new house, he thinks his new spot is in our bed! We are upgrading to a king size bed; it will be here next week. It is about time!

This week, Baby E's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. Can't wait to watch Matt change a diaper. He has never changed 1 diaper. That is about to change my friend!!

Happy May Day!

Congrats Southall Family!

Our dear friends Mike and Stacie Southall just moved into their beautiful new home. We were so excited to go see them their first day there. Matt helped them move yesterday and hopefully they are getting settled in. I wish I could say it is just down the street, but it isn't. They moved to St. Augustine, but it isn't a bad drive and they are in a wonderful family-friendly neighborhood with awesome schools in their district. They have a huge driveway on a nice cul-de-sac. I am forseeing some great street parties, perfect for trick-or-treating! We are so happy for them.

The girls loved showing me all around, especially their bedrooms. I got a tickle out of their "poses" for the pictures. They are excited we are having a girl and gave us a few name options! Matt said he will put them on the list.

Avery, 2.5, Payton, 6