It’s a….

nother boy!!!

Dylan Thomas Baldwin is on his way!  He was moving around alot and my due date is right on target, everything looks good!  We’re so excited to put a gender/name to this baby boy!

Corolla, NC Vacation

We just got home from our OBX vacation last night and it was awesome!  We arrived late Thursday night and spent Friday getting settled in and ready for the big wedding Saturday!  The weather was CRAZY on Saturday, as I’m sure most of you here at home have heard.  The rain held off until after the wedding was over, but the wind was insane and we had tornadoes touch down very close to us.  Please keep the victims of the NC tornadoes in your prayers.  We were very lucky to not be affected and to have the wedding go off without a hitch. 

Katie painted this frame and put it all together and everyone signed the matte

gorgeous bride and her favorite niece Andrea

best family picture I could manage

cupcake time!!

Other than Saturday, we had great weather and got three good days in at the beach.  Luke LOVED the beach.  Well, he loved the sand.  He hated the water because it was ice cold.  I think he’ll like putting his toes in the water this summer when it’s warm. 

Amanda and Luke picking up shells

my man appreciates a great beach nap, just like his Mommy

Andrea was such a doll all week.  She loves when I swing her around and sing Disney songs to her :)

This vacation was all about relaxation and lazy days.

Luke loving on his baby cousin.  His best attempt at Andrea is “Annie.” :)

 

Poker game the night before the wedding

hot tub margaritas… mmmmm….

 

wearing Kevin’s shades

just chillin’ with my Dad <3

 

 

taking a stroll around the block

Old Time Photos!!  Sorry for the quality, it’s a picture of a picture, but how precious!!!!

So, that’s our vacation in a nutshell.  Hopefully we’ll get some more beach time in this summer in Ocean City because I can’t wait to see Luke get excited about the beach again :)

18 Weeks and Vacation!

This week is kind of same old, same old.  Still getting sick almost every day, but it’s a short period of time and then I feel good again.  Still have this crick in my back that’s bothering me.  My doctor suggested a good massage.  I’m definitely going to need to make time for that.  I think I felt the baby move a couple times this week, but it’s still that maybe, maybe not stage.  No for sure movements.  I am officially out of my regular pants.  I can’t take it anymore.  Here’s what Alphamom has to say about week 18:

Your Baby:

• Is about the size of a baked potato — five-and-a-half inches long.
• Has actual cute little ears and working ear bones and can hear sounds through the amniotic fluid — similar to how things sound to you underwater.
• Is moving, moving, moving. The baby is still small enough that you may not feel every kick and punch yet, but the movements will start getting less “bubble-like” and more “holy crap, that was totally a foot” pretty soon, if they aren’t already.

You:

• May notice some dizziness from time to time, especially if you stand up too quickly or go too many hours without a good snack. Try to stay hydrated and remember to eat every few hours — good stuff like yogurt, nuts, fruits, veggies and cheese. Empty calories like chips and junk food will just make the dizziness worse, not better.
• Might be getting a little uncomfortable at night. The best sleeping position for pregnancy is on your side (when you lie on your back you compress the blood flow to your uterus), but as your pelvis changes and your abdomen gets heavier this can get awfully hard on your hips and legs. Try sleeping with a small pillow between your knees or lower thighs — I finally grabbed a small decorative pillow from our bed and found it made all the difference in the world without taking up too much room or making me feel too hot at night like regular pillows or those full-body maternity pillows did last time. (While very comfortable, trying to roll over with one of those big things was just a giant exercise in AWK-WARD.)
• Oh, and let’s discuss our bladders too. You might soon find yourself at that lovely stage when you just can’t seem to fully empty your bladder in a single bathroom run. I don’t know whether there’s just something baby-related blocking the exit or what, but I pee and then stand up and realize that I STILL have to pee. I remember hitting this point last time and using a trick Heather Armstrong described at Dooce — lean allllll the way forward while peeing, with your torso as parallel to the floor as you can manage. It really works, and now every time I pee I wonder how any woman ever managed to make it through pregnancy without the Internet.

This evening we’re heading out for Corolla, NC!!  I’m so excited.  I can’t wait to see my cousin Katie get married on Saturday and I can’t wait for a week of fun and relaxation on the beach!  I am definitely not bringing my computer or blogging while down there.  So, I’ll see you all again next Friday… with a big announcement!!!!!!!!! 

Sunday Funday

Yesterday we went over to my Aunt Carol and Uncle Craig's for a family visit. My cousin Julie and her son Winston are in town from California. Jule had Winston two weeks after Luke was born. The weather was so nice and we had a great day.

Andrea (6 months) is getting so big and strong!

Julie and Winston, Aunt Katie with Luke and Andrea

Julie and Andrea

Aunt Eileen (Winston's Grandma)

I'm kind of obsessed with this kid


cousins with the babes

Luke was taking a very important call


AJ with Uncle Craig

Running for "DaDa" who was late because of softball practice


It was a pretty intense hug. They went down.

One more try.


Carol and Craig have chickens that roam around the yard and Luke was doing a funny chicken walk and saying "bock, bock, bock."

17 Weeks!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning and everything looks great! Luke and I heard a nice strong heartbeat around 145 bpm, my blood pressure was good, I've lost a pound overall, and I talked my doctor into letting me go for my ultrasound at 19 weeks instead of 20! I told her I really wanted to know by Easter, so I'm going Friday the 22nd. We'll probably come home from vacation late Thursday night and then heading to the appointment Friday.
Here's what Alphamom has to say about week 17:
Your Baby:

• Is about five inches long from head to rump, which is the EXACT height of the jar of salsa I am currently quadruple dipping into. Bowls are for suckers.
• Has begun to develop the all-important adipose tissue — more affectionately known as baby fat.
• Is hard at working transforming its skeleton from soft cartilage into solid bone. Get this baby a part on Heroes.

You:

• Possibly feel immensely huge and very pregnant, but your bump probably isn’t as noticeable as you think it is. People may hesitate to comment or miss it completely, like the woman last night who came up and handed me an alcoholic cocktail and seemed genuinely shocked when I politely refused it, despite the fact that I feel like my belly eclipses my shoes at this point.
• “Normal” weight gain at this point can be anything between five and 13 pounds, although y’all know how I feel about the word “normal.” One book I read this week advised any woman who has gained more than 13 pounds to see a nutritionist and “be more careful”, while my doctor COMPLIMENTED me last Wednesday on not managing to gain a single blessed pound yet. I want to stab the world in the eyeballs with a fork right now, a little bit.

I'm still getting sick almost every day, but it's not a lingering bad feeling that sticks around all the time. I usually feel bad right when I wake up or after a meal, get sick, and it's over. So, I really can't complain too much because it's not like a nasty feeling all day every day.

Luke has been super cute lately, except I'm pretty sure we have a biter on our hands... that's not so cute. He loves to wave and say hi and bye to strangers at the store. He LOVES to be outside. Yesterday he helped me rake and bag leaves, and by "help" I mean every time I didn't have the rake in my hand he would drag it over to the fence and lean it up against it. He is saying new things every single day. I've been bad about taking pictures lately, so I'll make sure I get alot this weekend!

Celebrations

Saturday was my cousin Katie's bachelorette party. We had SO much fun. I was deemed DD and chauffered our party to Ingleside Winery. Amanda and I had made lunch, so we sat down and ate with a couple of bottles of wine and then moved on to the tasting. They tasted about 20 different kinds of wine. I tasted ginger ale :)


Katie and her future sister in law Mary Beth

Katie was trying to text her fiance "I'm feeling goooood" but it auto corrected to "I N feeling hookups." I seriously almost peed my pants. A little too much wine you think?

our group

MB, Bonnie, Amanda, Katie

Sunday we went to my parents house to celebrate my oldest sister Carrie's birthday. I didn't take any pictures because I'm awful, but Luke was so much fun and kept us entertained all day.

Yesterday we headed to the Greene Turtle for Nicki's "sprinkle." Everything was so great and Nicki was really surprised.


excited to get her bedding

adorable Jake Ryan

super cute mamas!

I think a newborn baby boy is a good look for her :)

Our group with the four pregnant girls up front