Picture Challenge - Day 4

So up this week is...

Post a picture of your night.

So here's a pic of my night last night: 

At least twice a week, Mark and I like to take Silas down to the boardwalk. He absolutely loves it down there and a smile never leaves his face. He is a dog that loves to be around people and boy, does he get a lot of attention every time we go down there. We also like to stop and get ice cream or smoothies at the ice cream shop and Silas loves getting a few licks of ice cream too. :) I always feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful town!

Hope everyone has a fun & safe memorial day weekend!! :)

17 down, 23 more to go!

Baby girl has 23 more weeks to finish cooking in there. Why does it seem like 23 weeks is so far away? I sure hope it flies by because I am not a good at waiting! Here's what she is up to these days:

By now the baby will be approximately 6-1/2 inches long and weigh in at about 4 ounces. The baby will gain weight faster towards the end of the pregnancy. The umbilical cord will become thicker and longer as the pregnancy progresses. The cord carries the blood and the nutrients to the baby. The baby will have adipose tissues to help regulate the temperature. By now when you look on a sonogram, you will be able to see very distinctive facial features.

I'm starting to feel her a lot more lately. For a couple of weeks I have been able to feel the flutters but it has since turned into waves (I'm assuming when she rolls) and lots of little taps that aren't very strong yet. I cannot wait until I get that first, hard kick right in the ribs.

My belly is continuing to grow although it really seems to have slowed down a bit. I used to get so many gasps about how much I was showing for it being so early on and now I am getting how small I look for 17 weeks. I guess it all just depends on how she's chillin' out in my uterus.. or it could just be what I've eaten that day. ;)

It's so weird how much I feel like I love her already. <3 Mark and I have been looking into cribs and dressers and have narrowed it down to 3. Tonight we're going to take some measurements and make a decision so we can have them ordered within the next few days. I think we've also finally found bedding that we agree on too. We can't wait to spend the next several weeks working on her nursery. She sure is going to be one spoiled little princess!

Speaking of princess's. Here is the king of the Lagana household on this lazy Sunday. (Who by the way is avery excited to be getting a little sister so he doesn't have to share the title with a brother). I know he will just love her to pieces too!

Picture Challenge #3

 This week's picture challenge is:

Post a picture of the cast from your favorite t.v. show

This is pretty easy for me because for years now there hasn't been a show that has been able to out-do my favorite t.v. show of all time - FRIENDS.

 I'm still holding out hope that they will one day make a Friends movie.. although I think if they were going to do it, it would have already been made and out already. :(

It's so hard to say who my favorite cast member is out of the bunch. Phoebe was hilarious and there were just so many things to love about Rachel & Monica's characters. Ross was just so likeable and I loved his goofiness. Joey was also just a big goof that always made you laugh. And who didn't love Monica and Chandler together? You seriously couldn't watch this this show and not wish you were friends with this bunch!

We're having a baby......

GIRL!!!!!

 

I know, I know.. how dead wrong was I?! It's all I've been hearing! I have seen first hand how many people swear they are having a certain sex and it always ends up being the opposite. I really thought I was the exception to the rule though. I mean, there was seriously NO doubt at all we were getting a boy. When the sonographer told me it was a girl, I really didn't believe her! We were shocked to say the least. However, we couldn't be more thrilled to be getting a little princess. I know she is most definitely going to have Mark wrapped around her little finger. :) I really just want the next 23 weeks to just fly by so we can meet her. I'm so in love already! <3

Picture Challenge #2

This week the challenge is to:

Post a picture of you and the person you've been closest to the longest.

I had to put zero thought in this since this is exceptionally easy. The person I've been closest to the longest is most definitely my cousin and best friend in the world, Jen.

Jen and I are first cousins (our mom's are sisters) and are only 3 1/2 months apart. We've literally grown up together, like sisters. As kids we were inseperable. We did everything together. Most, if not all, of my childhood memories include Jen. We didn't go to the same school as kids and lived about 30-40ish minutes apart so we spent a lot of weekends and summers together. When we were in middle school we got the heart-wrenching news that she, along with my aunt, uncle, and other cousin, Chad, were moving to Florida. Jen and I cried and cried because we would be so far away from eachother. It was really hard not having her so close for those couple of years they lived in Florida. Even though we were so far apart, we still remined so close. We wrote so many letters to eachother, Jen made videos on a camcorder and mailed them to me, and we talked on the phone all the time. One summer my family and I went to visit them for a week but I ended up staying for a whole month! It was the first time I ever rode on a plane by myself and I still remember to this day crying and crying on the back of the plane because I was so upset to leave her and not see her again until Christmas.

Then the best news came not too much longer after that... they were moving back to Maryland! Not only were they moving back, but they were moving to a house only 5 minutes away from where we were moving! My family had just moved back to Calvert County so Jen and I both started at a new high school together. We've experienced every single obstacle in our lives together and it makes me so happy that we have been able to remain best friends through out our entire lives. We will forever have an unbreakable bond that no one will ever be able to break and I love her more than she'll ever know! <3

Happy Mama's Day

"Mother is the name of God in the lips and hearts of children."
- William Makepeace Thackeray

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mommy's out there. I love this day to recognize, celebrate, and thank all the mom's, grandmom's, mom-in-law's, step-mom's, god-mom's, mom-to-be's, etc., for all that they do. It's true that a mother's job is never-ending, whether their kid's are grown or not. This is one holiday I really look forward to next year. It's surreal to think that I'll have a 6 month old!

We got up early this morning and went to Mark's parents to spend some time with his mom. Staci & Ashlyn came over to bring me my god-mommy's gift which was a beautiful flower pot they painted for me. It's adorable and something I'll always treasure!

Mark, Yvonne, & Ashlyn on Mother's Day

My beautiful neice and god-daughter

It was such a nice visit! Afterwards, we headed up to Annapolis to have a cook-out at my mom's. Thankfully we had the most beautiful weather! We spent most of the day outside with the dogs.

Here's me opening my first Mother's Day gift from my mom! She got me a bunch of goodie's... some baby bibs, a onesie, a belly belt, stretch mark cream, a cupcake recipe book, and lots of chocolate! (She must know that all pregnant girls love chocolate!)

Here's my "first son" chilling out with his ball.

Parents-to-be!

My mom with her kids.. minus Kyle :(

And of course with all the dogs!



As you can tell.. it was a GREAT day! I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful family and even better, a wonderful mom & mother-in-law! <3

I'll be back tomorrow to post an update on the baby!

Picture Challenge Day #1

I saw this 30-day Picture Challenge on another blog and I thought it would be something fun to do! Instead of doing it once a day for 30 days, I'm going to do it once a week so I'm not slaving over the blog every day! This week's picture challenge is: Post a picture of yourself with 10 facts.

Easy enough! Here's a picture of me at my mom's rehearsal dinner this past November. I hate taking pictures by myself so I had to find one that was easy to crop me out of.

10 facts about me:

1. My husband and I have the exact same initials - M.T.L.
2. I could literally eat cereal every single day - for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
3. Spaghetti with cold Prego sauce is another I could literally eat every single day.
4. I have a twin brother who is one minute older and I've always loved being a twin.
5. I work at my dad's company with, get this, my dad (obviously), my sister, my twin brother, my step-brother, my grandmother, my cousin, and my uncle. Not to mention, my dad's best friend from childhood, his brother, his wife, my brothers best friend from childhood... it's just one big family here! I love it though and I love working with family day in and day out. (Surprisingly, we all get along great.. most days ;) )
6. I love, love, love to read. Thanks to my husband, he has introduced me to the i-Book app and when I'm outside of school I'm not only reading just one book at a time but go back and forth between many. (Who does that?)
7. I used to look at my family like they were crazy with their dogs how they treated them like humans. I had cats growing up I loved so I could kinda get it but I can now say I definitely know what they're feeling. I've never loved anything the way I love my dog.  Who says a dog is only a man's best friend?
8. I find nothing more relaxing then laying out by the pool. I love the beach too but I don't think it compares to a pool. My favorite way to spend a hot summer day is with a good book, lounging by the pool. It's my dream to have an in-ground pool in our "forever" house one day.
9. I'm a huge celebrity-gossip reading nerd. I'm always reading online gossip (hello People, TMZ, and Radar Online) and watching E! News to catch up on the latest. My husband won't admit it, but he's an avid TMZ-reader too!
10. My whole life all I ever dreamed of was being a mommy one day. I never wanted to rush it but I've always felt very maternal. I dreamed of being pregnant (maybe not so much the birth part), raising a baby, taking family vacations, seeing their faces on Christmas, etc. It's so surreal to me that my dream is finally coming true. I couldn't be anymore happier. :)

Next week's picture challenge is: Post a picture of the person you've been closest with the longest. Get ready for a book! :)

14 week update!

I don't know about you, but boy, time sure is flying by for me! Next thing I know I'll be in my third trimester. It feels like October 30th is still a ways away but in all reality, it's only a short 25 weeks and 181 days away! Here's what my baby is up to these days...

Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

So this is going to be a pretty boring post since there isn't much to update about. I've been feeling pretty good and can really only say I feel pregnant thanks to my expanding waistline. It's so funny to see how big I am already! I officially can't hide it anymore these days. Everyone at work has noticed it and at a baby shower this past weekend I got questions asking when I was due and I literally was wearing the most loose-fitting shirt I own! Take a look at this for yourself and you'll see what I'm talking about...

He/she sure is growing like a weed! Speaking of my expanding waistline.. my clothes are now starting to fit tighter and tighter as the days go on. I caved and bought my first maternity jeans last week. I've only worn one pair once and I loved them. Everyone always told me maternity clothes were so comfortable but I seriously didn't expect they'd be that comfortable!

My finals were this past weekend so I officially have another semester under my belt. Only 2 more to go! I'm so glad I have a little break since my summer semester doesn't begin until May 31st. I'm looking forward to having my nights & weekends again. Well only for about 4 weekends.. but who's counting!?