the beginning of many blessings

There is so much to blog about this week since once again I've been away too long. Things have been so crazy these last two weeks I can't wait to tell you about it. First off, let me show you my growth. Below are my 31 week pictures. Mom and Connie couldn't resist dressing me up for the upcoming holiday. Knowing my mom and grandmothers, I can't imagine how much I'll have to get dressed up once I'm out of here!

And just for fun, you can see how much I've grown from 29 weeks to 31 weeks.

Last weekend Connie, Mom and Dad went to Ft. Desoto to take more maternity pictures. I guess you could say these were our first official family portraits. I know Mom is really excited to see how they turned out. Connie allowed them to be really creative and we had so much fun! Mom even laid down in the freezing cold water for some of the photos... although she belly-ached the whole time! I think she's in for a surprise if she can't even stand a little cold water for a few minutes. If you need a local photographer, please consider using Connie http://constanceavellinophotos.com/

Speaking of photos, I wanted to show you a picture of my ornament on our Christmas tree this year. It was an early gift from my Nannygoat. I know it's one Mom and Dad will treasure forever.

Now that I'm 32 weeks old I weigh almost 4 lbs and am almost 17 inches long. In the weeks to come I'll gain a third of my total body weight and Mom will probably be gaining about a pound a week. Most of that weight will go straight to me so I can be big and strong come February. Right now Mom has gained between 18-21 lbs. depending on when she weighs herself. I also have fingernails, toenails and if I'm going to have hair I've probably got at least some peach fuzz going on right now.

Now that things are tighter in here Mom can find me from the outside all the time. There's always some part of me close to the surface so we're in constant contact. Mom absolutely loves being able to feel me whenever she wants. At the doctor last week they said Mom measured 29 cm. which is completely normal. They also told her my heart rate ranged from the 150s to mid 160s. If you believe the Wives Tale about the heart rate then you're probably thinking I'm a girl since the faster heart rate usually means girl.

Mom and Dad have started a baby pool for people to be able to guess which day I'll be born and what sex I'll be. The winner gets half the pot (if they get both correct) and Mom and Dad are planning on donating the other half to a children's charity like March of Dimes or Ronald McDonald House. If you're interested in getting in on the pot, let them know, it's five dollars to enter!

Ok, I've been very patient in waiting to tell you about my shower last weekend but I can't wait any longer! Mom and Dad have the best friends, they had so many fun activities, so much good food and really know how to make this Donut feel special.

The cake! Isn't it so sweet? Cheryl took my wall art to Publix and they did such a good job making it look so cute.

The presents! Seriously I'm one spoiled Donut. I got so many great gifts from all the guests that came. I know Mom and Dad had so much fun opening all these... they're still working on finding places around the house to store them!

The games! Everyone was concentrating really hard to try and descramble the baby words.

Baby Food! Another one of the games was for everyone to try and guess what baby food was on their plate. Mom decided to go ahead and get some practice feeding Dad while everyone guessed. Did you know they have flavors that taste like a Thanksgiving dinner or even Italian dishes, like lasagna? Who knew! I can't wait to try those out in my new high chair!

More Games! Since the guys don't really understand what it's like to be pregnant they got to play a game themselves. Each guy had to blow up a balloon...

...and put it under his shirt. Then they had to try and get the balloon out without using their hands. Look how cute they look with baby bumps!

Mom thought Dad wore his bump well, so they had to take a photo to compare. Dad better put that beer down if he plans to carry that baby for much longer.

Here's a photo of the guys trying to "birth" their balloons. Not so easy, huh guys?

Mom thought Poppy looked especially cute pregnant. I think his baby is further along than I am!

Like I said earlier it really was such an awesome day for me and I know Mom and Dad felt so much love from everyone that came and especially Mom's friends that did such a good job planning all the details and making sure everything was perfect. Even my cousin Brooklynne had a good time! Mom forced Cheryl to hold Brooklynne to get practice so she'll starting trying for kids sooner than later, see we're not that bad Auntie Cheryl!

Whew... I still have a little bit more to talk about but I'll try and make it quick. Last time I blogged I told you Dad was working on painting my room and starting to get it ready. Although it's not quite time for the "big reveal" I thought you'd like to know that the same night he painted the room him and Mom couldn't wait to get the furniture in there and get it all set up... so they did.

This week we attended our first baby class at TGH. There's so much to know, Mom felt a little lost but much better by the time they were done. I know Mom and Dad were glad they learned how to properly bathe me (I don't want to be the stinky baby on the block), techniques to dress me so my little fingers don't get bent the wrong way and things to do to calm me when I cry. Here's Dad practicing putting on baby clothes.

In class each couple picked a baby to practice on. Since the babies had on diapers we didn't know the sex until it came time to practice bathing. Mom and Dad got a girl, I wonder if that's another sign I'm a girl too... Our baby wanted to say hi to all of ya'll... although she looks tired and ready for a nap.

This week Mom and Dad go to a breastfeeding class and next weekend it's an all day labor and delivery class. I hope they don't forget all this before I'm born.

I hope you have a fabulous week and I'll hopefully be in touch sooner than later. I'm sure I'll have a lot to talk about after our two classes this week.

Lots of love,
Donut

so much to be thankful for

This week has been such a fun week for me! I celebrated my first Thanksgiving, got to meet my cousins from Texas and Mom and Dad made lots of progress on my room, I can't wait to tell you all about it!

For Thanksgiving Connie and Mom decided to try a few different pictures. Here are Mom's two favorites of me in Thanksgiving "attire".

Since both Mom and Dad's families are local Mom and I embarked on a journey of visiting with four different sets of family throughout the day. We ate a lot and by the end of the night Mom was finding it hard to move around. Look at all the good stuff I got to try for my first Thanksgiving meal... Yum! 

 

This was my cousin Brooklynne's first Thanksgiving outside of Wombland so we had to take a picture together to remember her first Thanksgiving too.

This year my second cousin Emerson and her Mom and Dad were in town visiting. Mom and Dad aren't used to having a two year old around so it was a good taste of what's to come I'm sure.

Emerson's birthday was actually on Thanksgiving so we had a dual celebration for her. Emerson was so full of life and fun to be around. Her and Dad actually had a screaming contest. Dad said Emerson won... look how cute she is opening her presents!

Emerson's parents said they'll be back in two years for us to go to Disney together, I really can't wait... I've heard that place is magical!

After our guests left Mom and Dad got down to business and started cleaning out my room so they could start painting. First things first though, they had to pick a paint color. When we were at Home Depot looking at colors I couldn't help but move around in excitement. I guess the thought of having my own room got me all giddy inside. Don't get me wrong I like it here in Wombland...it's just with my own room I'll have so much space and toys to play with. Dad modeled the colors like a true Vanna White wanna-be.

After much deliberation Mom and Dad decided not to go with any of the colors they sampled on the walls. They wanted to be sure the room wasn't too bright since it isn't that big and they also wanted to try and pick a color they wouldn't need to repaint when we move to a bigger house, hopefully sooner than later, so they picked the lighter shade of the blue in the photo above.

Since Mom isn't supposed to be doing much lifting and moving Dad had to do most of the work to get my room ready. First he moved out all the big stuff then him and Uncle AJ took everything to my Poppy's house for storage and picked up my new furniture from Buy Buy Baby. Mom and Dad asked each grandparent to get a piece of my furniture as their gift to me for my baby shower. I know Mom and Dad are so grateful to have such loving parents and I'm super excited to have the best grandparents around! Goodbye guest room/office... hello nursery!

This picture doesn't really show the color on the walls really well but as you can tell Dad is super excited to be doing the painting all by himself. He said he was smiling for this picture... I guess we'll really never know. Right now my furniture is sitting in the living room and I know Mom and Dad can't wait for the paint to dry so they can see how it looks in the room. I think by next weekend we'll have everything in place and I think Mom's goal of having the nursery done by Christmas might just happen!

This week I got a special gift in the mail from Mom's friend Dayna. Dayna has two little girls of her own and sent Mom one of their favorite books. It just so happens that book involves a little owl. Dayna also made me the sweetest little stuffed owl for my room. Mom and Dad have the best of friends!

Mom also got to cash in on a present this week. For her birthday her best friend Kelly got her a prenatal massage. Mom decided to save the massage until she got a little further along so she waited until she was in her seventh month. Wow oh wow, we were so relaxed and comfy during the massage Mom didn't want to leave. Mom wishes she could get massages like that every week. Mom also found out this week that Kelly will be coming to visit us the second week in January. Mom is super excited because she hasn't seen Kelly in over a year. Kelly wanted to be sure to see Mom during her pregnancy so she's making the trip all the way from California to visit with us and help Mom with last minute preps for my arrival. Isn't that sweet?

Now that I'm a 30 weeker I'm almost 16 inches long and weigh just about three pounds. Mom has put on about 18 pounds so far but is still running/fast walking to try and stay healthy. Everyone who sees her comments on how big she is and how low she's carrying me. My Nonie described Mom as "gigantic". She's also been told I look like a torpedo from the outside. Here are my 29 week pictures... what do you think?

Below is a comparison so you can see how much I've grown over the last month. The picture on the left is me at 25 weeks, the one on the right is from 29 weeks.

We only have about 10 weeks left until we meet but until then I'll just stick around here and keep bloggin' from the belly.

I can't wait to tell you all about my exciting week coming up. I'm sure I'll have room updates and lots to say about my first baby shower on Sunday.

I hope you have a happy week too!

Donut

look out third trimester donut's on the way out

First off, I have to apologize for my absence these last two weeks. Mom has been so busy and didn't make time for me to share all my latest news with you. Since I last wrote I have hit a milestone, last Friday I officially celebrated moving into my third trimester here in Wombland. I've been living now for 28 whole weeks! Isn't that exciting? Mom and I both know these last three months are going to fly by especially with all the holidays!

Right now I weigh about two and a quarter pounds and have reached almost 15 inches in length. I can also blink my eyes and have eye lashes. I hope I take after my Nannygoat and have long lashes, especially if I'm a girl. I've been moving around a lot lately and I know Mom just loves it. She is constantly rubbing her belly and staring at it to see me push her skin around. Since things are getting a little more cramped in here and I don't have many places to go these days, Mom is noticing more and more bulges in her tummy area where I'm sticking out. Since I know she doesn't mind I'll just keep it up until the end. We also had another milestone... for the first time Mom had her right foot swell up a bit. She stayed up way too late one night and by the time she went to bed her foot had started to get bigger. I know she was disappointed because she was hoping this wouldn't happen to her but I guess it's inevitable.

There are a few really exciting announcements I been waiting to tell you about. The first is that my Daddy started his new job this week. He's working for an engineering firm in Tampa. Although the job is technically part time he's already been told he'll be working more than 40 hours a week until February! The bad part is they have a deadline to submit a proposal and it's right around the time I'm supposed to be born. Dad will be very busy juggling me and the submittal for work but I know him and Mom are so grateful for this opportunity just in time!

Another big announcement I've had to keep a secret for a while now is that one of Mom's very best friends is also pregnant! Jen and Brad are expecting a playmate for me in late May and I'm super excited! Jen is 12 weeks pregnant and trucking along. Here's one of the earlier shots of baby Yurcus.

One last big announcement is that Mom's friend Brittany had her baby this week! Little Layla is just too cute. I am so excited to play with all these kids when we get bigger.

I saw this picture on facebook and couldn't help but laugh so I had to share. The caption said, "Mom and Daughter's first fight." Looks like Britt has her work cut out for her!

For work Mom was assigned a client that does 3D/4D ultrasounds. The client asked to use Mom and Dad in the commercial since they needed a pregnant couple to be their customers. Below is the first draft of the commercial. My cousin Brooklynne makes an appearance as Mom and Dad's "baby" at the end. I also make an appearance... the shot in the beginning is my heart beating (obviously I'm older than eight weeks) and the shot of the baby turned sideways that Dad points to on screen is also me. The other shots are of other babies they have taken pictures of. Unfortunately the client didn't like Mom's original version so both Brooklynne and I were chopped from the commercial by the end of the revisions. Oh well, guess I'll have to try my shot at stardom another time.

Last week Mom and Dad started working on my mobile. Mom bought a mobile on clearance at Buy Buy Baby and took off the little monkeys so she could make me a special mobile that matched my room. Dad did all the "owl designing" and drew up an official template and Mom is doing all the cutting, sewing and stuffing. Mom hasn't sewn since she was a kid so it's been a slow process but at least all the pieces are all cut. The picture below is with the pieces just laid out. The one below that is the first one Mom sewed but has since taken apart so she could sew the eyes and beak on instead of gluing them like she originally planned. Mom still hasn't decided where their eyes should be looking...

Mom and Dad are getting really excited for my upcoming baby showers, I'm going to have one the first weekend in December and one the first weekend in January. Mom has the bestest friends and family and is so grateful for them to be throwing these showers for us. The shower in December is a joint shower for Mom and Dad's friends. I know Mom's excited for Dad and his friends to partake in the festivities. I wish I could be there as Dad opens presents like breast pads and nipple cream. Good times.

Mom is also really grateful to have been given more maternity clothes from her cousin Lacy who just had her daughter Reagan about a month ago. Lacy gave Mom a lot of long sleeved shirts, dresses and pants which should be good to get her through the winter. If Mom has learned anything these last few months it's that God will provide for all your needs... Mom was wondering what she was going to do once it really got chilly outside but now she doesn't have to worry!

Well I think it's time for bed, I've stayed up too late once again...

Nighty Night-- don't let the bed bugs bite!

-xoxo-
Donut

happy halloweenie... or no weenie... that is still the question...

Happy Halloween everyone! I am so excited to be celebrating my first Halloween even if it is from Wombland. I'm sure Mom will send a little candy my way as a gesture of good faith to last me until I can dress up next year. This year for Halloween Mom dressed up like a Mummy... since she's now a "Mummy" to me... get it? I know she was a little disappointed her costume didn't come out better but it was still a clever idea, at least she thought so. In case you're wondering Dad was a mechanic.

Last time Mom and Connie got together for my progression series they got a little festive to celebrate the holiday! I can't wait to see what they come up with for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Since we're talking Halloween, Mom thought this was such a creative use of pumpkins and other veggies and certainly something she knows is closer than she really realizes...

I just had my 25 week progression series photos taken last week. As you can see I'm growing nicely and according to just about everyone that sees Mom, I'm a boy. Won't it be fun to see what gender I really am in just 14 short weeks?

Being that I'm 26 weeks old now my hearing is much more developed and I can actually hear Mom and Dad's voices. I'm also starting to inhale and exhale small amounts of amniotic fluid. These so-called breathing movements are good practice for when I'm born and take my first gulp of air. From here on out I'm going to be putting on my baby fat. Right now I weigh about a pound and two thirds and am about 14 inches long. Soon I'll be taller than Mom!

This week Mom and Dad had much to be grateful for. Mom went to the doctor and had her belly measured and listened to my heart beating strong. Her belly measured 26cm which the doc said was perfect! Mom loves to hear my heart beating anytime she can and this week was no exception. Mom's midwife could tell while they were listening that I was doing flips inside Mom. I like to move when she/I am hungry... and we hadn't eaten breakfast yet so I was letting her know, it's time!

This week I also got to say Hi to Mom and Dad in person at a 3D/4D ultrasound. Mom has a client that does these and since they needed a pregnant woman (and husband) for their commercial Mom & Dad ended up being talent and getting a free scan as part of the deal. 

I have changed a lot since the last 3D photo Mom and Dad got at 19 weeks! In case you're wondering my umbilical cord is wrapped around my neck as you can see in the second photo. This is completely normal but still a little scary looking. I was playing with it during the scan, guess I don't have much else to do right now. By the end of the scan I had my hands and my feet in front of my face and they couldn't get any good shots of me after that. It's a little hard to tell but my feet are directly over my face. I was really entertaining Mom by stretching my legs out so she could see how long they are!

Mom is going to try and convert the video so you can see me moving but it's too late (way past our bedtime) for her to do that tonight.

This weekend I was supposed to get my room painted but since Mom and Dad are having guests (my cousins from Texas are visiting!) around Thanksgiving they've decided to wait and keep the spare bedroom until after they leave so they'll have a comfy place to stay while they're here. I know Mom was super excited to have this task taken care of but she'll just have to be patient. It's worth it after all, I get to meet my cousin Emerson for the first time. We'll be close in age so when I go to Texas to visit I'll have someone to play with.

I think Mom and Dad have agreed on a light shade of green for the room (little bit lighter than the photo below). And we did have a little progress on the room, this week Dad picked out a wall art and ordered it behind Mom's back. She couldn't get mad at him though because 1.) it's for me 2.) she secretly likes it a lot more than the cheapy one she bought at Target.

Well I guess that's all for now. I hope you have a Happy Day and get lots of candy during your adventures!

Happy Halloweenie!

Donut

houston... we have an outie

Since Mom is continuing to get bigger as I grow her belly is showing signs of getting bigger too. It's been officially decided Mom's belly button is an outie! Welcome to the outside of the belly, belly button. Mom thinks her belly button looks like the top of a naval orange... And look Mom has the dark line running down her belly. She didn't even realize it was there until she saw this picture (she can't see that part of her stomach anymore).

Speaking of getting bigger, Mom had her 23 week pictures taken by Connie a few weeks ago. Look at how much I've grown!

Mom is so grateful to have Connie taking these pictures of her progression. She went on Friday to have her 25 week shots done. Mom and Connie got creative for one of the pictures, I can't wait to show you, they should be in my next blog. Here's a closer shot of me from the outside at 23 weeks.

Now that I'm 25 weeks old Mom's uterus is the size of a soccer ball, isn't that crazy? I weigh about 1.5 lbs now and will start gaining baby fat from here on out. This will help my wrinkly skin smooth out so I can look more like a newborn. If I'm going to have hair you would be able to see it by now and tell its color and texture... pretty wild stuff. I wonder if I'll have a full head of hair like my cousin Brooklynne? When Mom and Dad go for my 3D/4D they might be able to see it then! I know Mom will be super excited to know since she thinks I'll have hair based on her heartburn and acid reflux.

This week Mom goes back to the doctor for a general check-up and to have her belly measured. She will also have a glucose test done to see if she could have gestational diabetes. This is a normal test they do when Moms are between 24-28 weeks. I'll keep ya posted but let's say a prayer everything is normal.

This week I also got some exciting gifts from my Mimi. She bought Mom and Dad a Baby Bullet so they can make me homemade food. Mom wanted the Baby Bullet but didn't know if they would actually get it since it's not a necessity. If you know of any good recipes I might like for my baby food please be sure to let them know! Mom is looking forward to trying this out, maybe Dad will be her test subject until I get here... ha. Mimi also got me some really sweet sleeping jammies I can't wait to wear, they have little duckies on them, so cute!

Well it's Saturday night and we're all hanging out at home too pooped to pop. Today we had a big yard sale at Mimi and ChiChi's house. Mom and Dad have been gathering goodies to sell for quite some time now, that along with Mimi and ChiChi's stuff made for a successful day and a good amount of money made. I think everyone was super excited and impressed at how well we did today.

With the money we made Mom and Dad are going to pick-up a piece of furniture from my set! I'm so excited for them to start working on my room. I think they're going to paint my room next weekend so the transformation from guest room/office to my room will officially begin.

I don't think I've told you but Mom gave into Dad and decided to go with the furniture he chose. Although Mom's furniture got lots of votes from her friends, it seemed all the "old" people voted for Dad's set. The various opinions were much appreciated and some good points were brought up for each one. Just an FYI, the furniture in the picture below is a slightly different color than the one they picked out. Mine will be darker with more of a cherry finish.

I guess I'm all done with updates for this week. Hope all is well in your world. I'm getting really excited to meet all of you in just 15 short weeks... It will surely be here before we know it!

Goodnight.

D. Aguila

makin progress

Well I know it's been a while since I wrote last, seems life has gotten busy for us here! We've had a lot happen since the last time I wrote so I can't wait to tell you about it!

First off, I have to say Congrats to one of my new best friends, Luke, for making his way down the birth canal and out of Wombland safely on October 1st. His parents Mike and Regina are good friends of Mom and Dad so they're super excited for them. We all got to meet Luke this past Saturday, Mom put Luke near me so we could hang for few minutes while the parents were chatting.

So, the way I look at it I'll either be going to prom with Luke as my date or as his buddy with our dates in tow... guess we won't know which one until February.

Another Congrats has to go out to Mom's cousins Lacey and Ryan Zacher. They were graced by the presence of their daughter Reagan on October 5th. I'm getting so excited for all the new kids for me to play with!

On Saturday of last weekend Mom and Dad embarked on their journey to begin a registry for me. Mimi and ChiChi (that's what I'm going to call Dad's parents) joined them and were good sports sticking it out until the end. Dad took control of the gun and went to town on all kinds of cool stuff for me. After about three hours of straight shopping and decision making they had to call it quits for the day... after all, there was football to be watched. Mom was able to go back later in the week with her good friend Dena and finish up where they left off. Dena was such a big help giving Mom pointers and tips on things they need or don't really need for me. Mom has been so grateful for all the advice and help everyone has offered so far.

Another big milestone Mom and Dad reached this past week was picking out my room theme and bedding. Mom wasn't happy with anything she had seen at the local stores and really wanted to do an owl theme, not creepy owls... cute ones of course. She was able to find a generic bedding set that she thinks will be good to match with some owl stuff in my room. Looks like the colors will be teal and lime green with hints of brown and yellow. Mom loves the idea of stripes and polka dots together. She also found an owl wall decal set on sale at Target for three dollars! I can tell she's really anxious to see how everything looks, hopefully her vision is as good in the room as it is in her head!

Sunday of this week was very special for me, I got to spend a few hours with both of my great grandmothers together. Once again Mom and Dad had the pleasure of telling Biscuit Noni about me and my expected arrival. I think she actually found out three times on Sunday that I was coming. It's really sad that she has dementia but at least joyful things get to be celebrated with her more than once!

This was also my cousin Brooklynne's first time meeting Biscuit Noni and being with both great grandmothers at the same time. I must say Brooklynne is getting so big and I love to hear her noises, even if they are cries sometimes. Everyone keeps saying I'm going to have to be pretty cute to beat her in the looks department. I'd have to agree based on what I've seen so far.

In the last few weeks Mom has been experiencing a lot of movement from me. Things are getting a little more squished in here so I don't have many places to go anymore. Actually there have been quite a few people who have felt me move from the outside besides Dad. I can tell Mom is so proud when other people feel me moving even though all I did was kick them or punch them! Mom and Dad were out last weekend and all their friends in the picture felt me move around while we were out.

Did you know this Friday I'll be 24 weeks old? I am able to feel the movements of Mom dancing and loud noises that I hear often are becoming more familiar, like Tengo's bark. This means they probably won't faze me when I hear them outside of the Wombland. Currently I weigh over a pound and am probably about 11 inches long by now, almost a foot-- woop woop! Mom loves hearing everyone's predictions of my gender. One person will tell her she's carrying me like a boy and the next day someone will say she's carrying like a girl. Although from what I've heard the majority of the "guesses" are that I'm a boy. I can't wait to surprise everyone with the big reveal next year. Mom and Dad are going to do some of the wives tale tests to see what they reveal too. That should be a fun day of experiments!

Speaking of my gender, Mom had her first baby dream about me this week. She dreamt that I was a boy and in her dream although I was just born I was about the size of a three month old with blond hair. In her dream she was breastfeeding me and it was coming out so fast, and I was drinking so fast, that I puked all over her. Her dream excited her so much that she woke up in the middle of the night to tell Dad all about it.

As usual I've stayed up past my bedtime and really need to get to sleep. I hope you have sweet dreams like Mom did!

Lots of love

-Donut