38 Weeks!!

...and anxious anxious anxious!
more comfortable at this point because baby boy finally dropped, but SO anxious I can't even begin to explain! Every day that goes by without so much as a Braxton Hicks contraction I start to feel a little like he's never going to come. Luckily my weekly doctors appointments help by giving me updates on how I'm progressing and last week I learned that I definitely am - yay! Friday's appointment told us that I am now 70% effaced and 2 centimeters dilated. At the beginning of the appointment my doctor told me that I would more than likely go into labor around the same time I did for vincent - meaning only a couple of days early. But, after she checked me and we were about to walk out she said "well, I'll either see you at your next doctors appointment or in the hospital". I guess we'll all just have to wait and see!! Hoping at least for more good news about my progress at this Thursdays appointment, if nothing else ;0).

Just in case though, we've got our bags packed, the car loaded

and Sylas' bed all made up and ready for his arrival.

Can't believe another little will be sleeping in this bed SO soon - can't wait!

meanwhile, you could say we are taking advantage of these last few days as a family of three.
We decided Saturday that we really wanted to get out of the house and show Vincent something fun so we went to the Natural History Museum!

He had a blast and ran us around almost the entire museum in less than two hours.

Watching him be amazed by so many things made the entire experience so memorable and exciting for Jay and I. Plus I'm pretty sure Jay and I learned a few things ourselves. Definitely worth the trip!

Sunday we decided to continue the fun by taking a trip to Cottonwood Mall.

Vincent always loves riding the carousel there

and this time he got to ride the Choo Choo train too!

Hearing him say "choo choo" for the first time in that sweet little voice of his was SO worth the tears that flowed trying to get him off. It was a small price to pay for that kind of moments with our favorite guy.

More big plans coming next weekend if Vincent's brother decides he'd rather stay cozied up inside - horses and play time with some great friends are on the agenda for Saturday but we'll see!!!

36 Weeks & Happy Halloween!

The count down has begun... and as of today, I have 26 days or less - but let's all pray for less days because unfortunately at this point the excitement of being so close is taken over by my severe complaint of being uncomfortable. More often than not, breathing is hard, sitting kills my back but standing for too long is definitely out of the question. Oh and sleeping.. well that's hit or miss most nights. You know, between having to pee every couple of hours and needing help just to turn over... So basically, I'm anxious to not be pregnant anymore. Or maybe i'm just anxious to carry my baby boy in my arms instead :0) - I think that's it.  The good news from yesterdays doctors appointment is everything looks right on track and baby boy is healthy and doing well in there. She also told me I'm 1 centimeter dilated so that's kind of exciting! Also during todays appointment I pre-registered for labor and delivery. That makes us just one step closer to meeting our baby boy - yay!

Meanwhile, as I continue to "suck it up" these last couple days, we have no shortage of things to keep us busy. The most recent being Halloween!

As you may know, Halloween is definitely NOT my favorite. In fact, it's probably my least favorite of all the holidays. Having Vincent helps make it more fun though. He's the perfect excuse to bring me out of my "bah humbug" attitude towards the day.

So this year, we all got in the spirit. We carved our pumpkin - which Vincent got to pick out at school last week for FREE! Major plus.

And we dressed up!

Just like last year, I ended up buying two different costumes because I couldn't decide. The one he ended up wearing was definitely the cuter of the two - and kind of hilarious. Such a sophisticated little golfer ;0)

And Jay completed the look by playing the part of Vincent's Caddy - the perfect pair!

                 

The weather was perfect so we did some trick-or-treating.

And made out with just enough candy to last us a couple of days. Perfect!

Overall, I'd say Halloween was great this year. I can't say i'm counting down the days until next year but I am excited it's at least out of the way so I can start focusing on some even better holidays coming up next! ;0)

Hope yours was great too!!

Our Recent Family Photo Shoot

A couple weeks ago, Jay, Vincent and I got to spend some much needed time away at Jay's parents house in Angel Fire. We cherish the time we get to spend together as a whole family but even more so when we can do it in the high country. There's just something about that place that instantly makes you relax and really reconsider what's important in life. That's why Jay and I were SO excited when we were able to take advantage of the beautiful Angel Fire surroundings to take a few family/maternity pics!

While I was pregnant with Vincent it seemed like we had all the time in the world to prepare for him so we actually had a real maternity photo shoot done with one of our dear friends, Bri Kerwin @ bkerwinphotography.com. This pregnancy, sadly, our lives are so incredibly busy we're lucky to be able to plan anything in advance to prepare us for baby #2. Lucky for us though, Jay's amazingly talented brother, Ryan was able to take a few pics for us while we were in Angel Fire so that we could document this very exciting time in our lives. And here are a few of our favorites...

This was not a staged photo but maybe that's why I love it so much :0) 

I truly feel these pictures capture perfectly, how happy we are as a family of three preparing for our newest member. Thank you, Ryan, for taking the time out of your relaxing weekend to take these for us. We are forever grateful and will cherish them always! 

Unexpected Ultrasound

As a last minute suggestion at Tuesdays baby appointment, my doctor referred me to get a third ultrasound to check on the growth of Mister Sylas. In the midst of grabbing my stuff to leave and her rushing out to meet with her other patients I wasn't able to ask if she was referring me because she was concerned about his growth or if it was just something she suggests to everyone at my stage in the game, so I went with the latter reason... I didn't want to freak myself out if you know what I mean.  

I was able to get in for the ultrasound Friday and here's what I found out: 

With 6 and 1/2 weeks left to go, baby boy already weighs 5lbs 11ozs and is measuring at 17 and 1/2 inches long. I also found out that these measurements put him in the 87th percentile for size if you compare him to other baby's at 33 and 1/2 weeks. The nurse let me know that at this point he should be gaining half a pound a week which means, if you do the math, I'm liable to end up having an almost nine pound baby - WHAT?! 

For the sake of having a smooth and relatively easy labor and delivery, please pray for me this isn't the case.  

I go back to the doctor on the 23rd and can't wait to hear what she has to say. From what I could gather at the ultrasound, his heart, lungs and everything else look great despite the fact he's already growing like crazy, which is just want I wanted to hear! He also made sure to let us know, several times, that he is most definitely a boy. And he's not one bit shy about it ;0). 

Best of all though, I got to see his sweet little face in 4D for the first time. And, because we live in the great world of technology, I get to share his sweet face with all of you! 

Everyone, meet Sylas Dean!

Poor guy is definitely out growing his living quarters but he is still absolutely beautiful, all squished up in there like that. I can't wait to hold him and see his beautiful little self on the outside, where there's plenty of room for him to grow. 

More updates soon!

33 Weeks!

and nesting..
It's even carried over into my blog. In case you haven't noticed, there's a new title and yet again, a new look.
At this point, nesting is what I do best - I simply can't help myself to constantly think of how to rearrange, update or change everything! Thank god for Jay, he's doing a great job of putting up with me when it comes to working on stuff in our house ;0) Luckily he knows it will all be over soon... Once baby boy comes, I won't be wanting to do much of anything except soak in the joy of our recently grown family.

Speaking of nesting though, Jay and I made some serious progress on baby boy's nursery this past weekend. We put his crib together and made the bed, with new bedding and all. We washed WAY too many clothes to stock his drawers and closet for the entire first year.


This was just one load. And it was only onesies from new born to 9 months :0/

We  painted.

And finally, we finished off the weekend by christening his new room with his name.

I made this banner (or bunting if you want to get technical) for our shower as a way of filling everyone in on the big secret and was so excited to add it as a decoration to his nursery. It's official now!!
I also recently finished my 2nd (if you count the banner as my 1st) project for baby Sylas, a crochet blanket!

Now all we have is two small projects to finish up and the nursery will be complete! Besides folding and hanging all of the washed clothes, of course. So glad to everything will be ready in time for his arrival. Makes me even more anxious to finally bring him home. Just a couple more weeks!!

31 weeks!

With only 9 weeks left in this pregnancy, you can say that things have definitely gone into hyperdrive here in the Turri house. For instance, just last weekend, even with a sick baby boy and a trip to the emergency room, Jay and I some how managed to still move our bedroom back downstairs so we can finally get started on the nursery. Not being able to work on it because we were technically still living in his room, was something that recently started to stress me out. But, now that we're moved I can finally breath a sigh of relief that his room will actually be ready in time :0). Now time for the fun part.. decorating!

Being this far along also brings changes to my doctors visits. Rather than monthy, we are there every two weeks now!! The most recent doctors visit we had told us baby boy is growing right on track and that i'm measuring right where I should be for how far along I am. Which is great news, considering I've been told more than once now that I look big enough to be having twins! My doctor told me it's beacuse I'm short that my baby bump looks deceptively large to others. And sadly, i'm sure i'll have to keep reminding myself of that since I will only continue to get bigger over these last couple of weeks and people apparently can't keep their comments to themselves.. hmph! ;0)

Overall though, life is great right now. Fall is FINALLY here and there are so many great things to look forward to. There's the Balloon Fiesta and McCall's Pumpkin Patch. A trip to Angel Fire and our baby shower! The Lion King on Broadway and finally, the birth of our sweet baby boy. I think Vincent is actually starting to understand a little that there's going to be another baby in the house but as to how he adjusts, i'm going to be optimistic :0). Until then, we are definitely not taking for granted the time we have left being a family of three. And that means lots and lots of Vincent loving. And spoiling. And snuggling...

28 Weeks!

And you know what that means? I'm officially in my third trimester! I got the e-mail notification this morning and just about fell out of my chair. Where has the time gone?! I thought I had so much time left..? I guess it's time to start crackin' on his nursery and getting our house in order for our newest addition, he'll be here before we know it! One of the most fun parts about being so much closer to delivery is we recently started planning our baby shower! It's more like a baby celebration because we have most everything we need but, not to be left out, our new little guy still needs to be celebrated! And we are so thankful our family is helping us do that. We are definitely looking forward to all of the baby festivities.

While we continue counting down to Baby T's arrival, our family of three recently decided to do a little Labor Day weekend camping.. ;0)

And what better place than in our very own living room!

Jay and I had already made plans to do an open house both Saturday and Sunday, so real outdoor camping was sort of out of the question. If you ask me though, I think we had more fun doing it this way ;0).

Excuse the blurri-ness. He was a little overly excited

Not to mention we had a great view!! 

Can't wait to do it again! And maybe next time it will actually be outdoors. The backyard is definitely not off limits ;0)

26 Weeks

In the three weeks since I last posted, a lot of life has happened... Baby boy has grown from the size of a large mango to the length of a cucumber! We had our 6 month checkup yesterday afternoon and everything is looking great. Next stop for me is the glucose test, which i'm not looking forward to, but since it's all for a good cause I'll be sure to suck it up ;0).

As for my other little man, well, he got a bed upgrade! And Jay and I now get a little extra rest every night.

For the past 6 weeks or so, Vincent has refused to sleep in his crib. Not sure if it was just too small for him or he didn't like the confinement, but one night he decided he had had enough of that!! So, until we could get his new big boy bed, he cuddled up with us. Which was ok... but only in the short term. Last Saturday night though, marked one week of sleeping through the night in his own bed. Surprisingly, he LOVES it! And if he does wake up during the night, all he needs is a little snuggle from one of us and he's back to sleep. After 20 months of never consistently sleeping through the night, Jay and I are over joyed! At least now we can try and catch up on some Zzz's before we get to start the whole thing over again :0).

The other new milestone for Vincent is NO MORE BINKY! Pretty much immediately after starting day care, our little guy caught a cold (of which he is still battling, but that's another story!) And because he couldn't breathe well out of his nose, he couldn't suck on his binky. So that was that! And trust me, none of us have looked back since. That may be the only good thing that came from these horrible day care germs, but what a blessing in disguise it was!

On a more serious note, the Turri family had a terrible loss this past week that definitely threw us all for a loop. Jay's grandpa Tino suffered from Cancer that unfortunately went undetected by several different doctors. He went into the hospital on a Saturday night and by Tuesday we all were saying our "good byes". And what sad "good byes" they were. The sudden-ness of the whole thing, combined with the sadness of losing the elder of the family has made this whole situation one that will take some of us awhile to get over. And that's ok, because if anything became apparent during this whole thing, it's that the Turri family is so tight and strong, no one will ever be suffering alone. For the past 7 days, the family has banded together and celebrated the life of this special man. There has been lots of tears and hugs and laughs. Everyone has a special story to share about the man who touched their lives and it's so comforting and wonderful to hear them. Selfishly, I'm saddened to think that he won't be here to meet his newest great grandson, for I know he would have loved his Big Grandpa, but I am just so very thankful that I was able to know him for as long as I did and that Vincent and Jay had such a great relationship with him. The family Tino created is so amazing, and that is a true reflection on the father and grand father he was. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. We all know he is watching over us now, at peace and at rest.

In the words of Valentino Turri

"Here's to us,

and those like us,

and those who don't want to be like us,

and those who will never be like us!"

23 Weeks!

It truly is amazing to me how much faster my body is reacting to being pregnant this time around. I had always heard that your body remembers what it's like to be pregnant and quickly stretches to accommodate the baby, but wow! Some days I just can't get over it. I just pray this little guy is deceiving us with his large-ness, because I still have 17 weeks to go and know he's only going to get bigger & bigger.

The best part about this point in my pregnancy is all of his movements are so much stronger that I finally get to feel him on a continuous basis throughout the day. I think he has a special thing for his dad too, because he is especially active when he hears him or feels the warmth of his hand. He may not be here yet, but we've all definitely formed a special bond and can't wait to welcome him into the world... although we have lots to get done before that happens! Our house has been on the market for two months now and we're hoping to be able to sell it and move by the end of the summer. We have a big boy room to set up for Vincent and a new nursery to put together before November so the sooner we can get into our new place the better! Needless to say, any and all positive house selling vibes from you would be greatly appreciated ;0) Until then, we have plenty to keep ourselves busy trying to sell it!!