Pictures...

I know I said I probably wouldn't post before Thanksgiving, but I couldn't help it!  I have to share these pictures of Lila.  I took these a couple of days ago.  She usually loves to take pictures.  As soon as she sees the camera she says "cheese"!  The funniest thing though, was that when I dressed her up she ran to her playroom and when she came back to her room she had MULTIPLE bracelets and necklaces on, a purse and her sunglasses.  I wish I had a shot of that, but I didn't because I was still setting up the camera and by the time it was done, she had removed most of her accessories... maybe I'll catch it next time!

Here's my beauty:

This last picture I took while she did "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"... she loves it!

Lila is one of the biggest reasons we're so thankful this year.  The joy she brings into our lives is surreal.  Only God is capable of creating such perfection...  We praise our Lord Jesus for His infinite goodness and how He pours it over our lives everyday!

Has it really been that long?

I tried to come in with a post weekly but somehow the days are just flying by!  Of course, feeling nauseous and tired all day certainly doesn't help.  Then, on top of it, dear husband came down with flu-like symptoms, which freaked me out, but it turned out to be just a bad cold, thankfully!  He's feeling a little better after a whole weekend of being drugged and locked inside the house. :)

Now, let's talk about "healthy", shall we?  I went for my first ultrasound last week and everything is PERFECT!  My official due date is July 9, 2010 and the baby's heartbeat was at 128 beats per minute at 6 weeks, 5 days.  It's amazing how I feel this time.  I thought I'd be sort of like "been there, done that" (not in a bad way at all) but I still had that funny feeling when I saw the baby's image on the ultrasound screen.  Then, when I saw the baby's heartbeat I had to hold back tears, just like when I saw Lila's heartbeat for the first time.  It's amazing how much I love this little bean already!  Weird thing though: it's also amazing how quickly we forget about the DOs and DON'Ts during pregnancy.  I find myself having to read about everything all over again, as if I have no clue what to expect.  It's hillarious!

Here's our little bundle of joy during his/her first photoshoot:

Next "photoshoot" will be on December 22. Can't wait to see what our baby looks like then!

Probably no more updates this week since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year, even though only very few family members will be able to make it.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!  So many blessings to count, I don't even know where to begin!

Just a quick "hello"

So, we had some great weather this week in Boston!  I have yet to take Lila out so we can get some nice Fall pictures but we did manage to get some at the park this past weekend.  They didn't come out great, but I hope to take some better ones this coming weekend, if the weather allows. :)   Here are some of them!

As for me, I'm very tired and morning sickness is officially here. It sure is much harder when you have a toddler to cook for when you don't feel like being around food.  But at the same time, it's very reassuring because I feel like that's a sign the baby is growing as it should be.  Next week I'll have my first ultrasound... I'm very excited!  On another note, Lila got so much better with her neediness!  I'm relieved, even though I know it'll come back once the baby arrives.  And lately, she has been so nurturing and "maternal".  She actually puts Desitin on her doll's bottoms, puts her dolls in diapers (a big waste of diapers, I should add...) and even tries to swaddle them and then she throws them inside her crib... it's hillarious! I've got to capture a video of it and post it here.

Be back soon!

Etsy boutique coming soon!

For years I've been making these baby hair accessories and at one point I even started creating a website, but never finished it.  Last year, the CPSIA (consumer product safety improvement act) came up with so many new regulations as to how products should be tested that many small businesses, like mine, were almost forced to go out of business, unless the business owner had a lot of money to invest in the testing.  Luckily, they made some changes that wouldn't affect businesses that produced small goods such as the ones I produce.  So now I'm thrilled to say that I'm setting up my Etsy boutique and soon it'll be up!!!  Here are a few samples of my work:

just another day in "motherhood"...

Anyway, so yesterday Lila was taking a bath while I folded the laundry and watched her at the same time. She was having fun, as usual... bath time is her favorite time of the day. All of a sudden, she just stopped all the "talking, singing and water-splashing" and just sat there looking at the water. As soon as I stood up I saw, well, poop...in the water. And instantly, she started to wail! Seriously, she looked embarrassed! She's not giving us ANY signs of being ready to be potty-trained so I even doubted that she knew what she had done, but dad also saw what I saw and he said the same thing to me: "she looks embarrassed, as if she knows she did something she wasn't supposed to." Keep in mind we didn't yell, gasped or anything, so I know we didn't scare her. Poor thing... Luckily, I'm not having any morning sickness or anything (it's too soon but I hope it continues...), because cleaning that up was not easy on a "normal stomach"... I can't imagine having to do that while nauseous!
Now, onto not-so-disgusting things.... so lately, Lila's been giving me a hard time. People say she already feels there's a new baby coming. I found that hard to believe at first, but now it seems like the only logical explanation as to why she's so clingy and whiny lately. Her dad was always the one she would "prefer". I've also heard that is common with most girls. But now it's ALL me and ONLY me. Finally! :) But I am quite tired though, because she wants to be held all day, all the time and I have to do things around the house either holding her, or listening to her complain while trying to squeeze in between my legs. Not fun, but I feel so bad for her... soon, I won't be able to devote all my attention to her and that makes me feel guilty. I hope that doesn't sound as awful as it feels! I guess it's normal to feel like that right now. I'm sure Lila will be a great big sister! She's so sweet and caring... I'm sure it'll be easier than I think! Well, at least I hope! :)

our 2009 miracle

In 2005, my husband and I decided to try to get pregnant. After more than a year with no success, we decided to see a reproductive endocrinologist to help us figure out why it wasn't happening.  After extensive testing, I was put on a pill to help me ovulate and on the first try I got pregnant, but only a few days later, I miscarried.  Then we continue to try the pill in different dosages and after five months I got pregnant again.  Once again, weeks later I miscarried but it was a little more complicated this time since it involved a lot of blood loss, an infection and finally, a D&C.  We took sometime to recover from that and tried injections.  First try: medications didn't work at all.  Second try: medications worked so well that we had to have IVF.  Out of 11 eggs, 7 were retrieved.  Out of the 7, 4 fertilized, and out of the 4, only 2 survived up to 5 days and we transferred one embryo in July of 2007.  Our positive pregnancy test came only 10 days later and, needless to say, we were ecstatic!  In April 2008, Lila was born.  We could not imagine greater joy... she's the reason why our days are brighter and our lives more colorful.

A few months ago we decided to take it easy on trying for baby #2 and knew that, since we still have one frozen embryo, we could go to our specialist and just do the treatment again.  Little did we know we would get this big surprise on October 28, 2009!

We're so happy we can't even begin to explain! God be praised for His wonderful grace and goodness!

Here we go...

After years of having pages on orkut and facebook, we decided it was time to make things simple and just create a blog. That way our family and friends that live far away will have easier access to, well, "us"!

While I'm still learning my way around here, I might not be updating daily...I'm aiming for weekly right now but I'm not sure if that'll work! If you have any tips, please feel free to post them. :)

See you around...