at 20 wks +

So I'm a little more than halfway along in my pregnancy! I can't believe that - half way!!

I went for my 20wk ultrasound last week and it was amazing! It's always fascinating to see the baby up on the monitor moving around. Mike and I decided not to find out the sex of the baby (much to the chagrin of many of my knitting friends - sorry guys!) so I kept my eyes shut during the "money shots" while they were taking all the measurements. I had to get up and move around at one point because they couldn't get a good shot of the heart - but everything is 100% so far! Yeah for healthy baby!

Here are a few photos from the ultrasound -

The baby is on his/her back in this one, and has one knee up by the shoulder, (which kinda looks like an arm to me) and one arm tucked behind the back:


another profile shot:



The foot:


the face! Which is really pretty cool:


i think it has my nose...

in this one the baby is 'waving' to Mike - He wasn't able to be there for this ultrasound - which makes us sad, but my friend sue who went with me took some video for him to see while I was there:


The wonderful thing is I get to see him in 2 days!!! YEAH!!
I really miss him a lot. I know part of that is my hormones, but it's the little things that I miss about him not being here. I know he's not having the best time up there either and we keep telling ourselves, just a few more weeks. a few more weeks.

Then I think we're going to go to Louisville for a week or so to see some family and friends. I will fly from here and Mike will drive from NY and we'll meet up there, and then I'll drive back with him together.

I am definitely showing now, and I can feel the baby move - mostly kicking my bladder while I work - good fun! They're just little burps/bumps right now, but I'm not used to them yet so they still catch me by surprise. I hope by next week that maybe Mike will be able to feel them a little - that will be really neat.

Now it's a matter of figuring out what things we need/want for the baby. I think I'm going to go stroller shopping with Mike in NY so we can see what we both like, and I'm asking advice from some of my friends and family on everything from bottles to breast-pumps to strollers, toys and car seats.

On the knitting front- I'm almost done with my ribbed baby sweater - it's turning out much better than the first try. I have a couple other projects in mind - I just need to choose one or two to take with me when I go see Mike. I am trying to utilize my stash, as I know I have a plethora of yarn, I'm just deciding what works for which projects. I feel like I've been doing that for a while. But I'll get there.

BTW, Did I mention how excited I am to go see Mike?
I'm really excited.
I mean I really really really can't wait!
2 days
that's it!
yup.
going to see Mike.

yeah.
This isn't making the day go by any faster.. I'm off to eat and sleep to get rid of another day!

knitting for quasimodo baby

A little while ago, I stared what I thought to be an easy baby sweater with some beautiful plum yarn from my stash. I figured it would go quickly and was a great project to take with me as I traveled to visit Mike - and I was right. I plugged away on it and got pretty far.

The sweater is knit in one piece, with minimal seaming under the arms and is knit from the bottom up and around the shoulders to the front. Then you pick up the lapel and carry on. I had gotten through the back, and shoulders, and had split for the neck and was just going along following directions when I noticed things just didn't look right. I asked a friend, and we figured out I had counted wrong, and I ripped out a small bit and started again.

Fast forward to knitting this Saturday - I am 'finished' with both sides, and have gotten to the end of the pattern on my page, and am looking at the garment, and just can't figure it out. I am about to pick up for the lapel, and am looking at it and thinking - this just can't be right! So I ask for some help, and go through the pattern as written on my instruction sheet, and all is right.. but it's soo not right - I finally realize, I am missing 2 lines from the bottom of my pattern page that didn't print off properly! Two lines doesn't seem like much, but it's like missing two main ingredients when baking a cake - it will turn out oh-so-wrong, and mine did.

This is what it's supposed to look like at this point:



And here's what I mine looked like by the time I figured out my mistake:



Yeah. um. not so much. I ripped out and with the extra 2 lines of pattern will hopefully have this going in no time.

Mike is doing well, but has acquiesced to the fact that he is not a city boy. I think it's mostly his neighborhood, which is very loud and not as close as he would like. The neighbors drive by at all hours of the day/night and have the car stereos up really really loud - almost as if the song that's playing on the radio is their calling card they're leaving to say hello. Many times this causes a car alarm to go off, or another car to drive by with a different song and retaliate. Good fun when you're trying to sleep at 1 am. But he's managing. I will be up to visit in July - we're working on dates.

While visiting another friends blog I came across this really cool website which asks the question - What have you left behind? And he asks people from all over the world to answer the question. It's amazing how much you can identify with the answers. I suggest you check it out. Wish it was coming nearby, it'd be a cool exhibit to see.

The pregnancy is going well, I do have a belly now, but mostly feeling about the same - a bit more tired here and there, but nothing that a nap wouldn't take care of. I've been trying to hang out with friends on the weekend more since Mike isn't here. Next week is my 20 wk ultrasound - and NO, we're not finding out! ;) Mike won't be there, and that makes me sad - I'll have to send him pictures from the DVD. I miss him and will be glad when he's back. Only 7 weeks left - not too bad.

home alone

This week started my summer without Mike.

I've been taking it easy when I come home for the most part. The worst thing is trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I just have little ideas/motivation, except for the fact that I'm usually pretty hungry and wants something right away. I'm really trying not to take the easy way out and just do cereal or simple salads. I know that's not healthy. I'm working on it slowly.

Today is my day for cleaning, as I didn't do much throughout the week, and it definitely needs it. Part of that means updating my photos, so here are some pictures from my trip:

First I have to explain that on Saturday, Mike and I went walking around Central park and saw some real characters! It was great fun. The best part was happening upon the rollerskating rink. They do this every weekend and holiday during the summer, and anyone who wants can come and rollerskate/rollerblade! It was wild! and the music was great. Here are a couple of clips and pictures of some of the crazy people we saw and met:

This guy had 3 waterbottles balanced on his head while he skated around:



And did his own little 'show':



This guy was selling CD's and talking about his prodigy (above) - guess the terrycloth thing is a linking fashion statement!



A shot of half the circle:



loved his hat:



These video's give you an idea of the crazy skating that was going on - The guy in the black pants had a metal belt that read SEXY SEXY SEXY all the way around - and he had the moves (although I didn't capture them well on here)



And if you didn't know better, you would think this was a shot of my brother (Gabriella's dad) - he really really reminded me of Carlo - even with his dancing! He was completely cracking me up!

The batman guy:



His dancing:



Presenting - Dotty the Chicken! She needs a few more spots, but I'm pleased with how she came out. She looks very regal here I think:


Here's a 'cousins' shot, including the one in my growing belly:



My other niece Gabriella and her new pink hat:



The little guys we found all over union station that cracked us up, and made my feet a little less sore while walking around:







Overall, I'm really glad I was able to spend the time with Mike - I think it was good for both of us - a nice transition. We're able to Skype most nights, so that makes it easier too. Plus, I keep up with his new blog (not to be confused with his website) where he's documenting what he's doing at his internship.

Next time I'll and post more pictures of me an my belly - first I have to get someone to take some pictures for me!