Oh yeah ... We had a baby!

Oh yeah ... We had a baby!

Our beautiful little Amelie came into the world on 12/16 @ 3:56pm. She was a healthy (and unexpected) 8lbs 3oz and 20inches long . As one of the nurses who was helping deliver me put it "Congratulations you gave birth to a toddler!" , who knew all that baby was in that tummy! It was love at first sight for both of us and we can't even imagine life before her!

I will update with more pics soon and updates on how Amelie is progressing but here are a few teasers for now!

The final stretch.

The final stretch.

Thanksgiving and the holidays are upon us! We really enjoyed ourselves this year, especially because we A) Didn't have to cook or B) Didn't have to travel, which always makes for a remarkably relaxing holiday! I've been getting bigger by the week (at least my OB's office scale seems to think so) and the gluttonous fest of Thanksgiving weekend definitely added a few more lbs. to that scale. As I'm nearing the end of this pregnancy I can't help but think how fortunate I am that everything went so smoothly and that I've truly been the happiest I've ever been in my life. I'm as so fortunate to have a husband who loves and supports me and will undoubtedly make the best father ever.

Bryan and I are trying to get as much 'couple' time as we can before the little one debuts - this means morning brunches out in Fells Point or dinner/movie dates together. We are also trying to get Napoleon acclimated to all the new baby stuff accumulating around the house but he seems none the wiser - so we'll see how he does when we bring her home. I'm sure he'll just love to have another human to incessantly lick!

As for now, I'm at 39 weeks (and counting). We really thought that this little girl would come early (OB even thought so too) but I'm not ruling it out until her due date next weekend. Been gradually slowing down and really feeling heavy everywhere. I'm sure this is not uncommon for most women about to pop so I'm trying to to take it in stride and stay somewhat active. Cleaning and walking the dog have become daily rituals, granted they are both done at a nice slow pace but at least they are getting done! I've also been continuing with some yoga practice, which I swear has helped me so much throughout this pregnancy. Anyways, here are some pictures from the last few weeks! Next post will hopefully include pics of the baby!


S

Our family portrait by our Christmas tree!

35 weeks chowing down on donuts at the Farmer's Market.

36 weeks rocking the new mommy hair cut!

38 weeks and ready for date night.

Devouring some yummy Lebanese food on date night.

And of course the after dinner gelato!

Breakfast croissants and coffee at one of our favorite local bakeries.

Work baby shower hosted by my awesome co-workers!

35 Weeks

35 Weeks

Still eating all the time ! Even my daily 4am peanut butter and jelly sandwich barely gets me through the night. Here's a pic of me enjoying a bag of fresh donuts at the farmers market this morning.
Also started doing the ever so graceful pregnant "waddle" which Bryan is enjoying immensely. Mama and baby are healthy and enjoying fall weather ... Can't wait for all that thanksgiving food!

Always hungry ...

Always hungry ...

At some point this week my appetite kicked in full swing and I'm now eating every 2 hours. Trying to keep it healthy but tonight a burger sounded too tempting!

Preparing for "Frankenstorm" ... Hopefully won't be as over hyped as the hurricane last year that just rained on us.

Week 32

Week 32

Starting to get much bigger now! Luckily the nesting instinct has kicked in for both me and Bryan so we have been cleaning and reorganizing like crazy. We are also packing things away in preparation of moving after Bryan's graduation too. So this past week and weekend has been quite buy. Luckily we were able to enjoy a date night together the other night - dinner and a movie- trying to get in some couple time before the little one makes an appearance !

Week 30

Week 30

A pic from this morning... Feel like I'm getting bigger everyday! Loving this colder weather because I can wear my leggings and dresses and boots! ( Which means no tight pants anymore) Fall weather is the best!

The Final Countdown....

The Final Countdown....

Haven't really posted anything in a little while - this is mostly because we have become entirely overwhelmed with baby preparations!! Personally, I didn't think that finding diapers would require such a vetting process but I was wrong....I realize now how new mommies can be really frustrated with everything especially because there are so many options for everything now. Organic or non-organic? Biodegradable? The list goes on. But the beautiful thing is that we enjoying every minute of it together and can't wait for this little girl to make her appearance. Also Mommy is starting to feel the burden of carrying around some of this extra weight! (As is evidenced by my "Elevator Mirror Chronicles" of this pregnancy - see pics below).

We are officially at 30 weeks now and that means the clock is ticking! 10 weeks to savor these last bits of sleep and quiet time together before we two become three! (Well, four since we have Napoleon as our 'furry child').

At least the football season and our 49ers are giving us a welcome distraction from the frantic pace of life right now...and we definitely can't wait for the holidays together here in MD. (For the first time in seven years we are actually spending holidays -i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas - here in Baltimore).

Enjoy the pics and perfect fall weather!

S

At a wedding for some friends of ours - 27 weeks. 

Showing of some 49ers pride with the bump too! 27 weeks.

Headed out to brunch with a friend - 28 weeks. 

Starting to pop out a bit more!! - 29 weeks. 

Wow, its really wedding season...

Wow, its really wedding season...

Got a chance to spend another weekend celebrating love, life and marriage with more friends during Labor Day! Bryan and I both recollected on how lucky we are to have such a diverse group of amazing friends in our lives that we truly enjoy sharing these special moments with. (This would making wedding count for us up to 4 this year so far with two more to go!!)

The Chai's with the newlyweds!

Sneaking a piece of challah that is traditionally cut at Jewish ceremonies (couldn't help myself, it looked so good!)

Customary couple pic.

And the full length shot!

On a side note - that blue dress is super tight!! Six months pregnant and I didn't think I would fit into the dress I got, but luckily the belly was on my side that night and we were able to shimmy into the dress. (Also having a full zip on the back of the dress helped too!) I'm really enjoying showing the bump off in fitted dresses too!

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend off, I know I definitely did not want to go back to work this week =(

I also made some super easy breakfast pastries - Peach Financiers - to perk up our Saturday morning this weekend. They were a perfect pairing with coffee/tea and the rainy weather! Check out the recipe!!

Til next time!
S

Baby Shower!

Baby Shower!

I was so happy to spend the past week in CA to celebrate - Carla & Mario's wedding and a baby shower! The week went by quickly and we were lucky to have amazing weather the whole time (typical CA!) Carla and Mario had a beautiful wedding and I was so honored to be a part of it. Their love and the love of their friends and family was so apparent, such a wonderful couple.

Bryan left to head back to MD that weekend and I stayed on for a week of vacation to spend time with family and friends. My mom and sisters hosted a lovely baby shower for me (since I won't be flying back to CA anytime soon!) and I was so lucky to be able to celebrate the baby shower surrounded by our closest family and friends! See below for some highlights from the trip.

Bryan and I having fun in the photobooth at the wedding. 

Roommates reunited!! My two BFFs.

Playing Baby Shower games.

4 generations right here! (GMa, Mom, Me + Baby!)

Decor was my old childhood toys and coin banks!

The lovely french themed brunch buffet!

Lovely Sunday

Lovely Sunday

Spent this morning baking a blueberry buckle - which we devoured! - and perusing the JFX Farmers Market for some yummy finds. I just mostly sampled bread =)

19 Weeks, almost halfway there!

Also here's the link for the recipe for the Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake - I actually used some old frozen blueberries I had mixed with some fresh blackberries from the market. I'm sure you could use anything in this though, its an amazing recipe!

It's a....

It's a....

So we were very anxious about finding out the gender of the baby!! I'll put it this way, I'm amazed and appreciate those who can wait the full 40-something weeks to find out...however, I'm a bit of a compulsive planner....so that part of me just couldn't wait! Now mind you, I'm not the type to open Christmas gifts early, but I really wanted to know what this gift would be!

Our ultrasound for the 'mid-pregnancy' point went great and we got to see our little one squirming and kicking around in there. Haven't felt any of the kicks yet, but SHE was such a busy bee! That's right, we'll be thrilled to welcome a little girl into our family this December. We even got to see her sucking her thumb during the ultrasound, which was truly amazing. Hopefully I can post a copy soon, once its scanned, to share! In the meantime, here are some cute onesies I couldn't help but buy...

Loved these!

S

The Bump Makes it Debut...

The Bump Makes it Debut...

So its been a while....and we've been trying to be contain all of our excitement but we are finally ready to debut the little Chai that will be joining our family in December! The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity and just absolute craziness.

First off, let me just say, for those of you that can't do math (like me) this is NOT a Paris baby. (Haha, one of the first questions we got from most people). However, this was definitely part of our 'master plan,' we just didn't think it would happen so quickly! We are unbelievably excited about our news and can't wait to share our joy with all of our family and friends. I've been feeling great and not having any issues (no morning sickness) other than some occasional fatigue. Summer is heating up and I'm grateful that I won't be intolerably pregnant until later in the winter when its nice and cold over here in Baltimore.

Either way, this fall is going to be very very very busy for us. On top of preparing for B.C. (Baby Chai) , Bryan is preparing applications for an Oral Surgery residency - which will take us on our next adventure to some mysterious place next year. We won't know where we are going until January 2013 so we're anticipating quite a bit of stuff this winter.

These past two weeks have been great because my sisters were able to visit and spend some time with us in Baltimore and NYC (for a quick trip!). Enjoy the pics below and stay cool in this awful summer weather!

S

Bryan, BC & I enjoying the breeze at Battery Park, NYC.

Getting some lunch in Baltimore with Liya and Bryan, Beba is behind the camera!

All the sisters at my birthday dinner at Aldea in NYC. 

A quick pic with the bump in Times Square. 

Another one!