A Babymoon for the Parents-to-be

It has been a busy couple of weeks!

Today, April 26, 2009, is our one-year anniversary. We cannot believe how fast time has gone.

On April 17th, we took the opportunity for a small vacation to Siesta Key to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle. It was the perfect location.
Beaches that are wide and full of white powdery sand, glorious sunsets, and really good food (laughs). It was just four days, but enough to recharge our batteries and get some much needed R&R.
We sat on the beach; visited the Mote Aquarium, St. Armand's Circle and Ringling Museum; ate at Columbia's and a place called Siesta Key Oyster Bar twice (it was really good and Ruel had to go back the second time for happy hour oysters). There was much more to do than we anticipated, but I think we did a good job on getting in the flavor of the location.
Ringling Museum was very neat. For those that don't know, John and Mabel Ringling were integral members of a huge circus culture in the early 1900's. Additionally, they were very wealthy and had an extensive art collection. While we were able to make it through the circus museums and their home (Ca d'Zan, or House of John in Venetian), I got tired about halfway through the art exhibits.

Last weekend's picture shows me at 26 weeks. I'm getting a belly! Dr. says I'm doing great with weight and that there are no issues at this point. May 1st, I enter the 3rd trimester. As many a past and present mommy had warned me, its gone faster than expected. At least with the 2nd trimester I've felt so much better in terms of nausea. According to the books (even though every woman is different), they say the 3rd trimester will bring back fatigue and ever increasing girth, but I like it so far. It's incredible to feel Christina move around and kick. Ruel has also been feeling her regularly and it's adorable to watch him rub my tummy and talk to his daughter. I can tell he's getting very excited.

The next few weeks will be dedicated to selecting a pediatrician and also finding a child care provider for when I return to work. Ruel is going to work on the nursery to make sure everything is put together and ready to go.




Love,
Kaycee

Week 23 and getting bigger!

Christina is growing wonderfully and we are starting to get things ready for her arrival. She is bound to be a soccer star or something similar, because she has a mighty kick from the inside.
This weekend me and one of my very good friends (whom I've known since middle school) Kellee Abel, went out and did a little shopping. During the day we took the opportunity to visit Babies 'R Us and get a registry started. In addition, Kellee purchased Christina's Crib (Delta Martine 4-in-1 Lifetime) and Mattress. Thanks again Kellee!
I think Ruel is experiencing sympathy cravings. Suddenly he has a very salty palate and is pulling random items from the fridge at all hours. I tease him about it, but also think it is very endearing.
To Susie and Tony, congratulations on Sophie's arrival.
To Michelle and Dan, congratulations on Olivia's arrival.
To Kendall and Seth, we hope Levi arrives soon...
Yes, it seems our circle of friends is baby central and we couldn't be happier for all the new parents! We love to read about all of the events and milestones you all e-mail and post.

Ruel will have lots of stuff to put together in the coming weeks!
Kaycee

Think Pink

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and found out that we'll be having a little girl.
Everyone in the family is very excited and she looks just beautiful already (I know I'm biased). The technician said everything looked great and that she was right on target for bone length and weight.
I'm really hoping I'm over the nausea. I still don't eat much at night, but you sure can't tell from the scale. I'm amazed at how my appetite has increased. I want to try to get some more walks in to balance everything out, but find I am still pretty tired in the evenings.
We bought a glider and it's currently awaiting assembly. Ruel is going to have more than his fair share of "projects" over the next several months as we put together the many items Christina (baby girl's name) will need.
Hope everyone is well.

Week 19

I'm about halfway through week 19 and eagerly await the ultrasound that will hopefully let us know if we are having an Aaron or a Christina. The appointment is March 12.
I can definitely see changes in my abdomen, everyday is different. I've also felt those first flutters and it is very exciting! As some of my friends who are also pregnant say, it's like having a little alien inside of you.
We haven't done much more for the nursery yet; we are waiting until we get confirmation of boy or girl, though it won't impact the overall scheme much. I've decided that I like the precious planet collection by Fisher Price. I like the vibrant colors and it's pretty gender neutral, so if we decide to have more than one it will work for boy or girl. www.fisherprice.com
Hope everyone is well. I'll try to post again in about a week.
Kaycee

More sonogram pictures

As of last Thursday, I am now at 15 weeks. Things are definitely starting to "show" but I feel so much better than I did last month. I now only have occasional nausea and I'm finally starting to enjoy the dinner hour again. Once I hit 4 months, I'll start taking some pictures of my prego self, so you all can see the changes.
We haven't found out the gender yet, but my next appointment is on Monday, February 16th, so we hope to learn then. I've been conducting an informal poll with friends and colleagues and "girl" is winning out over "boy" by 2-1. However, some fun online sites have predicted boy and I read that those which crave high acidity foods are prone to be carrying boys. Will it be intuition, old wives tales (does the mother's face change?) or experience by other mothers that wins out? Can't wait to find out!

Kaycee hits the big "three-oh"!

Hello everyone,
Just wanted to show off some of the pictures from my birthday dinner celebration.
I had a wonderful birthday on January 16th and Ruel wins the grand prize for great planning.
The day started off with a prenatal massage (the first of 3, one for each trimester) at Florida Hospital's Eden Spa, then we went for lunch in Winter Park at Panullo's, one of our favorite Italian restaurants. After lunch, he took me back to the car where he presented another gift basket full of wonderful pregnancy pampering items and a gift certificate to Motherhood Maternity. He wanted to take me on a shopping spree prior to dinner. It was so much fun to have him there while I got to play fashion show. What a guy.
Dinner was fabuluous. Stone Village Tavern is relatively new near the Mall at Millenia and I was humbled to have so many friends and family present to celebrate.
Below are some of the pictures Yizenia took.
I wanted to thank everyone again for such a wonderful party, I will remember it always.

Big Happenings in the Manuel Family

It is with such pleasure that we publicly announce that we are expecting our first child in July of 2009. Kaycee went for a check-up at the end of her first trimester last Tuesday (1/13) and everything looks great! We are excited, nervous, and awed about this amazing time in our lives. We know that life will change forever, but can't wait for this next step in our relationship and family.
Below is a picture of the seven week ultra-sound. We should have another this month.


We found out on the morning of November 20th at four AM (since Kaycee couldn't sleep) and spent the day in a daze over the thoughts of the coming months.
Thanksgiving was the next week and we both decided it would be nice to give thanks for our impending new addition by announcing to Kaycee's parents prior to dinner. Of course, there were hugs and tears by everyone. They are thrilled to hear that they will be grandparents again (they have two granddaugthers that are Kaycee's brother's children Adeline and Blaine).
Kaycee has had a rough trimester, being very sick for most of the days. It was ironic that when she went back for her second appointment she had actually lost a few pounds, but they say that's normal. She's starting to feel better, but we're all taking it one day at a time.
We do want to know gender, but that information won't be available until around the fourth or fifth month.
More posts to come as we upload pictures of Kaycee's big three-oh celebration.
(there is some catching up to do on the blog)