Monday, August 25, 2008

We've Moved!!!

No, not from our house ;-)

Check out the new and improved blog at www.lucytitus.com.

I dare you to forget that address!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Shower!

My shower was amazing.

I show up and my friends and family are there (I missed those who couldn't make it!) and it looks beautiful and everyone is giving me hugs and there's food EVERYWHERE:







There were homemade bagels, to-die-for homemade croissants, egg pie, a ricotta thing that people raved about, cheese platters, lunch meat, the list could go on and on. Plus A-MAZE-ING homemade cookies and my favorite cupcakes that had little baby carriages on them and booties and said "Oh Baby" that my Mom ordered. Seriously too cute. The chefs were: Adrienne (OMG those croissants), Jocelyn (best cookies EVER), Nina (Egg Pie with Heirloom tomatoes), Elaina (Hostess de Jour), and I feel like I'm missing one person. Seriously wonderful food and if I forgot you, I suck!

We all sat and ate-the weather was perfect-warm but just right in the shade :) With chairs transported by Amanda-among the thousands of other things she did for the shower.



After eating, we moved to the shade and played a game of baby pictionary-SO.MUCH.FUN. The "tie breaker" was that I had to draw something and whichever team guessed first won. I picked a hard clue and it was "Lactation Room" Ummm...how do you draw that? I drew big boobies with milk coming out of them-someone got lactation! And then a picture of a square with a door. A team got it and I'd say within the 1 minute time limit. It was a scream and SO MUCH FUN. My sister asked who I knew with boobs as big as I drew them and I said "Um...ME!!!" But we won't get into that.

Then it was time to open presents. Seriously people-there were a lot of presents! And? All of them amazing. They always tell you that you'll have to take stuff back and you'll get duplicates and that people will shop for whatever they want and won't look at your registry. Um no. There were all sizes up to 2 years of clothing, I didn't register for clothes and I still got the essentials, plus darling things, all the gear was from the registry, and I'd say almost every other gift was handmade. And the cards-I cried about 10 times. And the paper that everything was wrapped in-so precious. I also got tons of books-which makes me about the happiest girl alive. I :love: books and Shaun hasn't been letting me buy any. So now Lucy has quite the start of a library. I don't have pictures of the presents yet, but I'll take some :)

What was the handmade stuff you ask? There was a "quillow" which is a quilt that folds into a pillow but it's made out of all Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric-the theme of the nursery. It's so amazing that I'm going to hang it above the crib-that was from my friend from college Sharlene. My aunt made a flannel rag quilt and changing pad that it so soft and so pretty. My friend from the knit shop, Pat, who is covering my glider for me-gift enough! made me the cutest one-of-kind onsies, my other friend from the knit shop, Jocelyn, made booties and a sweater in the most perfect yarn. The first pair of socks that I made for myself are those same colors :), Adrienne, my very very good friend (and knitter) made Lucy a crocheted blanket with all the colors from her nursery and she made ME the prettiest cardigan that will be perfect for the fall and nursing. It's awesome. Again, I think that was all the handmade things (not to mention all the other thoughtful and amazing thing) If I missed something, I'll be back to update since I plan on taking pictures of everything. It was overwhelming-let me tell you!

One gift made me exclaim "YES!" and I want to explain for those of you that were there because it wasn't like this gift was SO much better than the other ones and I felt bad as soon as it escaped my mouth. Here's the back story: Shaun is a VERY practical person who doesn't like "stuff". He hates it in fact (Yes a baby is going to be a BIG adjustment!). I knew that we had to get a carseat, a pack 'n play, and a mattress. Those are all essentials that we need and I would not get a fight out of him. An essential that I think we need but I know he would never let me buy was the swing. If we had to buy that ourselves, we would have never gotten one (unless I went to the store by myself and bought it and put it together and threw away the receipt and got in really big trouble). Well, when I opened the swing from Nina and Adam I was totally excited. That and the bouncer (which Sarah and Todd got us-THANK YOU) were the 2 things that I really thought were essentials and I knew my husband would never agree to buying them (well maybe until we had a screaming baby on our hands). So the fact that I got it made me SO EXCITED! Everything else, from the Boppy to the baby positioner, to the bag of every mom needs it (complete with haiku), to the froggy for the bath, the actual bath , the towels, the clothes, ummm everything was so needed and appreciated and just perfect. Thank you everyone!!!

The best gift? Well besides all my friends and family being there to celebrate the birth of my baby-and I mean that honestly-that was the best part of the shower...anyway, the best gift? Came from my Mom. My Mom has a tendency to go overboard and this was no exception. You know those beautiful pima cotton smocked baby dresses that a little girl is lucky to get just one of? I think she got Lucy about 6 of them-all with matching leather shoes-white patent leather, pink sandles, etc. and bonnets and bows but NO that was not the best gift. Nor the baby Ugg-like boots and soft soft SOFT pink furry jacket (with ears!), nor the HUGE tu-tu-seriously I need a picture of this-with the most adorable satin and leather ballet shoes. Nope not that. Or even the robe and pink Ugg slippers for me. Nope not even that. (And yes, all of these things that I just listed came from my mother).

The best gift was something that made me sob in the middle of my shower. I mean SOB in front of all my friends. I'm just getting teary eyed thinking about it. It was a book of pictures of my family. My great grandparents are in there, my grandparents, my parents (including baby pictures), my siblings baby pictures and then just page after page of me with all these people and me by myself and me being nursed by my mother (one of the only picture in existence of my mother and me when I was a baby I think!), me with all of my grandparents, my sister, my brothers, my first birthday party. The reason this is so special and make me so emotional is that I've been asking for pictures of me as a child for about 5 years and my Mom couldn't find them, I thought they were lost and gone-she always assured me they weren't but I didn't believe her (me of little faith). There were pictures of my older siblings but it was like a black hole of Chelsea (and really Jake-the brother that is 2 years older) pictures. I thought they had gotten destroyed in the garage or lost in the move and I thought I'd never see them again. Plus being the youngest of four, I was SPOILED, but, my Mom was (understandably) busy. So there was never a baby book or picture album of me. My older brother and sister each had one but my brother and I didn't and I always wanted one.

My Mom (and I'm sure my Dad) put so much effort into that book. The book is amazing and I will cherish it forever. She wasn't quite done with it and wanted to take it home and I wouldn't let her. That thing is not leaving my possession-NO WAY. Take away every single thing I got yesterday and if I only got that book I would be the happiest girl alive.

Okay, I have to stop writing about it because I want to stop crying!

In between all of that gift opening, we played 2 more games: unwrap the parcel, and then they had to cut yarn that they thought was as big around as me. Some of those pieces were 4 times the size of me! My knitting friends Jocelyn and Pat's were the exact.same.length and about an inch bigger than I am right now, so they won the prizes :). For the record, I'm up 14 inches to 41 inches around! We also stopped for dessert amidst all that present opening :) YOM.

And then I got to take pictures with people-YAY! Unfortunately, the picture of my Mom and me didn't turn out. We even took 2 but both are pretty horrible :( I think she has some of us on her camera that are good (or someone does), plus I'm going down there next week to go to a wedding and I'll take some more because I really want a picture with me and my belly and my Mom. My Dad is good at getting my Mom to take good pictures so I'll make him do it ;)

In the meantime-Pictures!

2 preggers sisters and their baby bellies!



This one is my favorite of the bellies:



And just in case you didn't see:



My sisters (SIL, Me, Sister):



My aunt Marci and me:



Friend pictures (I didn't get to take pictures with everybody or get a picture of everybody but hopefully someone got a picture of us sitting in the shade together):

Amy and me:

babyshower007.jpg picture by beancubator


Amanda, me, Sharlene:

babyshower013.jpg picture by beancubator


Adrienne and me:

babyshower016.jpg picture by beancubator


Elaina and me:



It was an amazing day. Shaun, Lucy and I are such a lucky people to have so many amazing and wonderful people in our lives. Thank you.

Monday, August 4, 2008

30 Weeks!

I had my 30 week appointment today. I got the hospital registration packet to fill out and I got the number to call if I think I'm in labor! WOW-it's getting close! My appointments will now happen every 2 weeks and I get an ultrasound in 4 weeks to check her position, the amniotic fluid, and see how big she is. Once I hit 36 weeks, I'll start going in once a week.

She's in there kicking away right now saying "Hi" to all her loved ones. We're getting very excited for her arrival. I don't quite feel ready yet but give me a few weeks and I'm sure I'll want to get this baby out!

She had a huge growth spurt over the last week and I really seemed to pop. My belly is BIG now and I get asked multiple times a day when I'm due, followed by "that's not very long, now is it?" or some variation. Thanks for reminding me peeps!

She's quite the wiggle worm and has found Mommy's ribs! Wow that girl can kick and she's got rhythm! On multiple occasions she's kicked to the beat of music. The first time I thought it was a coincidence but now it's happened so many times that I'm convinced that she's got the music in her! ;-)

Here's a picture of my 30 week belly. As you'll be able to see in the picture, my hair has decided that it's straight. I try to do it curly and it turns out straight-WEIRD.


Sunday, July 20, 2008

Pictures from the Fingerlakes!

Mommy and Daddy on the boat:The whole family on the boat:


Mommy and Daddy picking cherries:




Mommy and Daddy in front of a BIG lake!


Uncle Jerel, Aunt Kara, Mommy, and Daddy:



Shaun with 4 month old Tyler (Aunt Chelsea couldn't get him to smile):


Monday, July 14, 2008

She's Definitely a Girl!!!

I had my 27 Week Appointment today and I the doctor did another ultrasound to do a "gender check" since I didn't actually get so see the goods last time. The tech said she was a girl and I had to take her word for it. Well, this time I got to see a good face shot with a hand and a crotch shot!!! The Doctor said "It's like she's sitting on a photo copier! There's no doubt-that's a girl!" Hopefully I can get the pictures scanned and posted soon.

Vacation Recap

Seeing the family was great! We spent a day in Wilkes-Barre/Harvey's Lake. While there we saw Shaun's friends from high school-Kim and her 6 month old Krista (so well behaved!) and Claire and her 2 and half year old Max. We also got to visit with both the Grandmas. Grandma Titus proclaimed that I was "huge" and she thought I was going to have twins. About 3 hours later (and after a BIG dinner) Grandma Gale proclaimed that I was "tiny". I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder ;-). Grandma Titus made the baby a beautiful white crocheted baby blanket, jacket, and hat. I'll try to post pictures of that too.

The rest of the vacation we spent in New York at the Fingerlakes. Shaun's parents were there, as were Ricky and Kelly and their kids and Jerel and Kara. We got to hold Tyler (Rick and Kelly's baby) who was born in March and is a very happy baby with long blond hair. We camped and spent time out on the boats. We also went and picked cherries one day-well Shaun climbed the trees and I caught cherries in a bag as he picked them.

We had a ton of fun! The Fingerlakes are truly beautiful. That whole area of the country is absolutely beautiful. Next time we see the Titus clan we'll have a baby!

Speaking of which-my due date is exactly 90 days away!!!

October 12th here we come!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Wow! Where does the Time Go?!?!?!

I can't believe it's July 1st already! We're off tonight to fly to Pennsylvania to go camping with Shaun's family over the 4th of July. We'll actually be camping at the Finger Lakes in New York-it should be very fun! A 7 month pregnant woman camping for 5 days-we'll see how this goes!!!

We've been working away on the house. The guest bathroom is going to be finished in about 2 weeks. We painted it red and the cabinets white. We're getting a new sink top, mirror, and medicine cabinet. Oh and new floors! It's our last home improvement project before the baby gets here-I'll be glad when it's done!

The Nursery has been painted, the crib put together and now I'm just waiting on fabric to finish the decorating. My parents are coming to visit in a few weeks and I think we'll make a ton of headway on the nursery. Once I have fabrics and the glider re-covered I'll post pictures-it's really coming together!

Work has been crazy busy for both Shaun and me so we're ready for this vacation! I've also been very busy knitting away. I've knit 2 hats, her baby blanket, and a cardigan. I'm working on the next cardigan and have many more projects in the works.

Pictures:

Her baby blanket:


Pumpkin Hat:


White hat waiting for baby chicks to be sewn on:


And the cardigan:


All is well here! I'm heading into the third trimester so we'll see how chipper I am in a few weeks!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Pictures!

We went to a wedding at a beautiful Japanese garden this weekend and used the occasion to take some pictures of our growing (boy are we growing :) ) family:



And just to ROUND it out, a picture of my big round belly! Warning-Naked Baby Belly Below!


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Baby Kickboxing!

Wow, there's an exercise class going on in my stomach and I wasn't even invited! She's been going crazy all morning and some of those kicks (or what I assume to be kicks) are quite strong! I can feel them easily from the outside. Shaun couldn't and a friend at work couldn't either but I could! It's really cool to feel her and also really reassuring. I like knowing my little bean is in there kicking Mommy all over the place. She can kick all she wants :)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Knitting!

I have pictures of the blanket I'm knitting for our little one:

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Close up:

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With the blue border color:

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It's Mommy's favorite color with Daddy's favorite color as the border :)

I've also knit 2 hats for her, I need to get a doll so that I can properly model them and then I'll post pictures.

A new 20 week photo is up in the "Growing Belly" section =D

Monday, May 26, 2008

20 Week Appointment

I went for my 20 week appointment on Friday. Can I just say that I LOVE Dr. Medina? He's great!

All my bloodtests were fine and we looked at my ultrasound results. He went through all the measurements with me and stated that if he could write a perfect ultra-sound, mine would be it. The ultra-sound still has my estimated delivery date (EDD) set for October 12th and she's weighing in at 9 oz.

I told him that the sonogram tech didn't show us the girl parts and he said that she'd be big enough for us to see her girl parts next month, so I get another ultrasound-YAY!!!

He had me lay back so we could hear her heartbeat. Last time it took awhile to find her heartbeat, not this time! As soon as he put the doppler on my belly, we could hear her loud and clear! It's such a reassuring sound to hear!

As I was laying back he felt for my uterus, which is right at my belly button right now. He said that was just the right position and that I'm hitting all my milestones exactly when I need to. He was very excited that I had started to feel her in there.

Speaking of which, this morning I was laying in bed and I reached down to touch my belly and it was all hard. Evidently I woke up our little girl because she moved away from my hand. It was so incredibly amazing to feel her on the outside and to feel her so well. I tried to get Shaun's hand over in time but she had moved and he didn't get to feel it. Oh well, soon enough.

We're going to take a 20 week picture tonight so you all can see my big belly. It's finally getting round! Thank god no more flat spot!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Polka Dots, Blue, Orange, and PINK!

On Tuesday, Shaun and I went to the behemoth that is Babies 'R Us. This place freaks me out, so many things, so many choices, and then so much of cookie cutter-bleck-no thanks!

When I was filling out the sheet, I wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle" under the decor section. The lady looked at it and said, "We don't have that here." Me, "I know, I'm doing it myself but I wanted people to know." Her, "Well, you won't find any caterpillar decorations or anything." I wanted to say "THANK GAWD!" but didn't =D

She gave us our (scanning) gun and off we went. Apparently I really like polka dots. Anything with dots got shot by that gun! Seriously though, just because she's a baby doesn't mean she needs pastels. Bright colors were SO hard to find. Pastels aren't my favorite and it seemed that everything remotely girlish was pastel :barf3:. This chica will have lots of blues, oranges, and brown (these colors are all very dominant in our house). And of course-PINK, just not powder pink. Bright pink! Fuscia pink! Techno-color pink!

You can view the whole shebang here or click the links for pictures of some of the stuff we picked out:

-Swing
-Cutest Towel Ever
-Second Cutest Towel Ever
-High Chair
-Stroller
-Car Seat
-Pack 'N Play
-Shaun's Favorite Item

And lots of other baby schmoo. Shaun kept saying "Do we really need all this stuff?" Oh honey, just wait...

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Preggy Chelsea Pictures

For those of you who don't get to see it everyday :) Here's what I'm looking like:

This picture surprised me quite a bit. I look down and I don't think my belly looks that big. Sometimes I'll walk by my reflection and do a double take. It's crazy what happens to your body, but it's cool too! My measurements have stayed the same EVERYWHERE
except my belly and boobs! My belly is up 11 inches and my bustline is up 5 inches!!!

Shaun thinks he's pretty lucky ;-D

Thursday, May 15, 2008

It's a....

GIRL!!!

We had our big ultrasound yesterday and found out we're having a girl!

First pictures:

We think that's a foot :0)


Doesn't she look like her Daddy?:

Big Yawn!

We have video of the experience too which is awesome but I need the technical genius of my husband to post those. Stay tuned ;-D

Onto the story of the actual ultrasound:

Yesterday was absolutely amazing.

The logistics:

I had to empty my blatter an hour before getting the u/s and then drink 16 ozs. of clear liquid 30 minutes before and then not pee. I also had some orange juice to make sure we had an awake baby :blush4:.

The actual ultrasound (u/s)

They called me in pretty quickly and got started. Shaun got to see the whole thing while I was laying on the table with the monitor faced away from me. At the swanky place that I went to for my 12 week u/s they had a monitor that I could see as well. But, I thought it was kind of neat that Shaun got to see and experience things that I didn't because the rest of the pregnancy is about me doing that :teeth2:. His facial expressions were great. We had to be quiet while the tech was taking all the images and I so wanted him to give me a blow by blow but he couldn't. Right at the beginning the tech said "Oh of course you're in a funny posistion. The first baby I did today was in a funny position and that just seems to set the tone." I got all worried that we weren't going to see the goods. I was SURE to tell her before we even started that I wanted to KNOW what kind of baby was in there. (I know she's a human btw) About 15-20 minutes in her wand got very painful. She stops and says "You're too full. Could you go to the bathroom?" I asked "All the way?" she said, "Yes." I wanted to kiss her!

When I got back, she started again and with no warning said "Well, you're going to have a girl." I was amazed and the water works totally started. I didn't get to see the image of her goods but the tech was positive she was a girl. So girl it is! Then we moved on to the part where I got to watch. It was so incredibly amazing! She waved at us (as she has on every u/s), we got to see her sucking, trying to put her thumb in her mouth, yawning :yawn2: and stretching (my absolute favorite), she changed positions in a very Mom-like (hey that's me!) way and was just so cute! We also got to see her very healthy spine, legs (they look long-wishful thinking on my part), and arms. Once I figure out how to post the video I'll post a link! My friends who saw it said that her profile looks like Shaun and I have to agree. She's so cute!

After that the tech took some more measurements and then asked us to wait outside so that the doctor could look and make sure we got all the pictures we needed. We had and she sent us on our way with a CD of the experience. They can only give you the images that she shared with me. All the other stuff goes to the specialist to review and my doctor. The tech only made the comment about her spine but didn't seem alarmed at all (and isn't allowed to say anything) but was very matter-of-factly cheerful throughout the entire procedure. I go in next week to see my doctor and I'll get the full results then :thumbu2: I saw a very active, healthy-looking baby! SO COOL.