Our Trip to Reno/Tahoe for Stella's Baptism

Marco and I headed up to Reno for the weekend for our Goddaughter's Baptism. It was the first time we got to meet Stella in person and we have been looking forward to this trip since she was born back on October 28th. Sabrina was due with Stella on 11/1/11 and this year I am due on 11/2/12 so the girls will be exactly a year apart (give or take a few days) and I think that is really neat. It will be fun to watch them together as they grow up.  We stayed with Sabrina and Steve at Sabrina's parents house. I just love them! They are the kindest people you will ever meet and took us in like we were part of the family.

The flight up on Friday morning was really early. We were up at 3:45am and left the house to drop Bella off at my mom's at 5:00am. Our flight left at 7am and we were in Reno a little after 8. The nice part about that ridiculously early flight was that we got to spend the entire day with them. Steve and Sabrina just bought a new house and are moving into it this week. After a yummy breakfast at one of their favorite places, we took a ride over and saw their beautiful home. I can't wait for them to move in and start making some amazing memories with Stella there!

She is just the cutest! She has the sweetest personality and is so content. She is a little over 7 months old and wants to walk. Forget about crawling, that's too slow! :) I love it! She likes to take laps around the house. She has these big blue eyes and a little bit of red hair. She is going to break some hearts!!!

Taking laps...

and making daddy bend over a lot!

Saturday was Stella's Baptism, It took place at the Chapel of Carmel which is the church Sabrina grew up in. It is nestled in the hills and has the most amazing view! We got ready at the house then headed to the church.

The Adkins family!

This is the view from inside the church. It was amazing!

This is the same dress that Sabrina and her sister, Sam, wore for their Baptisms. Now it's Stella's turn!

The altar

I thought the ceiling of the church was really neat!

I don't have any pictures from the actual ceremony, but Sabrina's mom took a bunch. :) Here are some of the family pics after the ceremony.

Sabrina's parents and grandparents

Parents and Godparents

Me and my girls :)

After the ceremony we went back to Sabrina's parents house for a party. There was lots of food and everyone was happy to celebrate with Stella!

Stella's Great-Grandma's!

On Sunday, we headed out for a day at Lake Tahoe. Now, the last time I was there I was on a SWAT trip at Heavenly during winter break in college (so my memories are a bit hazy....). Needless to say, it's a very different experience to go as an adult. Tahoe was GORGEOUS! The weather was a little chilly the whole time we were up north, but on Sunday the wind died down and it was a beautiful day. We stopped at a nice place on the Lake for lunch. Afterwards, we headed down to the water to put our feet in. It was freezing! The Lake is filled with runoff from the mountains so all that melted snow doesn't heat up much. The water was crystal clear and bluer than blue. This will be a fun place to take the girls in the summer!

There is still snow on the mountains!

Burrrrr

The water was so clear!

Me, hubs, and baby girl! :) I hope she loves the beach as much as I do.

Love birds

People enjoying a day at the beach...even though it was 65 degrees

After lunch, we headed back to the house to spend a little more time with Stella (and the pups) before we had to head home. I am going to miss her so much. I am really looking forward to our families spending time together so our girls get to know each other and also so we can be part of Stella's life. I can't wait to see all the great things she's going to do. With such great parents, this little one is destined for great things!

Hanging with Uncle Marco!

Smiles

She loves carrots

Hi, Auntie Dana!

Trigger! He is a Doberman and loves to play ball (but doesn't like to give the ball up)

My girl, Gwen! Love her.

Trigger waiting for his ball

Trigger's paw was the size of my whole hand...such a change from our 12lb Bella! Marco was loving it :)

19 Week Update and Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

Marco and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary this week! Each year, we try to stick to the traditional gift list (ex: Year 1= paper, Year 2= cotton). Year 3 is leather. We got pretty creative the first two years and even made some gifts but this year I feel like our anniversary snuck up on us. It's probably because we are so focused on baby girl coming that the time is flying by.  So this year we went shopping together and got each other practical leather gifts. Marco got me this really cute leather Coach bag that I can use in Dublin, or anywhere we travel. I got him a new pair of leather Nike basketball sneakers (so he can stop wearing the $10 Walmart specials that are falling apart!). They are RED..as in Rebel Red and he is SO excited about them. I know he can't wait to rock these at the Rebel games this fall. He's so cute!

We went to dinner at this little BBQ place we really like and it was a nice, quiet evening and spending some time just the two of use was really nice. I posted our wedding highlight reel online and it was really fun to watch it. It brought back so many great memories from that day. We usually bust open a bottle of Almond Champagne (our favorites, and it was stocked at our wedding) but this year it was off limits. :) There's always next year! Here are some of my favorite pictures of us from our wedding day!

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How far along? 19 weeks 
Total weight gain: About 11 lbs
Maternity clothes? Mostly the bottoms.
Stretch marks? Nope, still using my Mama Bee oil.
Sleep: Pretty good
Best moment of the week: We celebrated our three year anniversary on June 6th! :) 
Miss anything: Beer
Movement: Lots of bubbles and a few little kicks in between. I'm feeling a little more.
Food cravings: None this week
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: Girl!
Symptoms: I have had a few sharp pains this week that were low and on one side or the other. I'm guessing it's some round ligament pain.
Belly button in or out: In. 
Wedding rings on or off: On 

Labor Signs: No, thank God.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Spending the weekend in Reno (never thought I'd say that!) with the Adkins family for Stella's christening! Also, I leave for Dublin in less than a week! Our 20 week ultrasound.

18 Week Update, Dr. Appointment and FIRST KICK!

OMG, this second trimester is flying by! It is so much smoother than the first trimester and I am really enjoying being pregnant. I love that I have a growing belly and can't wait until a stranger recognizes me as being pregnant. I think I'm starting to look the part. :)

This week I have been feeling the bubble flutters a lot more. It's been happening during the day while I sit at my desk at work.  On Thursday (5/31) the day was almost over and I was at my desk when out of no where if felt like someone 'flicked' me...from the inside. I stopped what I was doing and just sat there. It was a very distinct 'flick' and different from anything else I had been feeling. I waited for it to happen again so I could convince myself that I didn't make it up, but it stopped. I told Marco and my mom about it who agreed that it was probably me feeling her actually kick for the first time. We had our 18 week appointment scheduled for the next day (Friday, 6/1 on my birthday) so I wanted to see what the doctor had to say. Sure enough, he said I should be feeling her any time now and that was probably what I felt yesterday! YAY FOR THE FIRST KICK! I could not have asked for a better birthday present!

The rest of our 18 week appointment went great. Everything looks good and I am right on track. We will go for our second trimester genetic screening sometime next week, then our big ultrasound will be right before I head to Dublin. The little red dots on my chest (and now my arms) are not broken blood vessels, they're just from the massive amount of hormones in my bod. Sweet. Nothing to do about them, they'll eventually go away.  My hernia has gotten bigger but there is nothing to do about that either. Just be careful, don't lift heavy stuff, etc. Overall, he was very happy with our progress and her little heart was beating loud and clear, nice and strong. Still incredible every time.

How far along? 18 weeks 
Total weight gain: About 9lbs
Maternity clothes? Pretty much the maternity capri's, but all regular skirts, dresses and tops.
Stretch marks? Nope, still using my Mama Bee oil.
Sleep: Not bad this week.
Best moment of the week: Feeling Baby Girl kick for the first time! It stopped my in my tracks. :) 
Miss anything: Nope
Movement: Felt the first kick and waiting for more!
Food cravings: Still liking fruit but no real cravings.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: Girl!
Symptoms: Is it possible for my boobs to get any bigger??? Apparently the answer is yes. I swear they are the source of most of my weight gain. Sigh. Noticing some lower back pain this week. My center of gravity is definitely shifting.
Belly button in or out: In. 
Wedding rings on or off: On 

Labor Signs: No, thank God.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: More kicks! Getting everything installed for the nursery, getting the first furniture delivery, ordering her bedding and picking out paint colors, etc. Going to Reno to see our favorites, the Adkins family!