happy new year!!

welcome 2008! have a fun and safe night tonight, friends and family :) pete and i will be low-key, playing wii and eating a multitude of yummy snacks!

well wishes for everyone for 2008!

34w+6d

i am sorry my belly pics stink -- i can only think to take them when i am all alone, and i am not skilled in self-portraits (obviously!):

pete has been nesting -- actually cleaning out closets, vacuuming a ton, making a mental list of all the things to accomplish in the next few weeks! i haven't felt the need yet, but seeing him go crazy around the house is giving me a little inspiration = i ran the roomba in every room today and bought baby-safe laundry detergent. i'll get the bug one of these days, i know!


we went to see dr. le on thursday and he said everything looks and sounds great! there was a bit less moving around by our baby - the living quarters are getting tight. i measured 36 weeks (which is more accurate with the 20 week ultrasound due date of 1/28). my weight hasn't skyrocketed, though i can't promise anything yet - baby green has made me a very hungry person!! my blood pressure was great, on the low side as i usually am, and sugar/protein tests have all been normal. we see him again in two weeks, then we're down to once a week visits! the next appointment includes a check to see if i've made any progress toward labor... it's getting close!


some unorganized info: baby weighs 5.5-6 pounds and if we go into labor anytime from here on out, it's a go! there is no stopping us after 35 weeks! we'll be signing up for our labor and delivery class on monday. our car is getting the once over and we'll have a practice installation of the car seat in the next week (i've scheduled that in my mind). the nursery is coming along. we still need to build the drawers for the changing table/dresser combo my parents got for us (the furniture is looking great with the paint!). i am planning on washing at least a few items in case of an early arrival. mom and i picked up a new robe and pjs for the hospital stay (need to wash those, too). i am looking forward to the baby 'dropping' as my ribs are hurting me in ways i couldn't imagine. though labor will be difficult, i am sure, i will be glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel (as will baby green!).

merry christmas!

pete and i enjoyed this holiday season so much - and our very last just the two (four including our four legged friends) of us... we are so excited to share these special times with our little one, the thought of it occupied many conversations over the few days.

christmas eve: we woke up and made a yummy waffle breakfast before heading off to the dog park. btw, someone left a load of brand new tennis balls for the doggies for christmas, isn't that nice? here are the girls enjoying the sunshine and new toys:

we built the baby's crib a few days before so we set in on the changing table. we'll post pics as soon as the room is presentable!! then pete and i spent the evening with his parents at their house in orinda. we ate crab, fresh bread, and an amazing salad! i brought a pumpkin roll that was liked (though i wasn't the biggest fan of my work). we exchanged presents and we so excited that sara enjoyed her game and video about babies and dogs. she is getting really excited about the baby, too. she puts her hand on my belly and says 'baby crying'. not so much longer and she'll get to meet her niece or nephew! i had two christmas 'wants' this year, a roomba (dog hair is not my friend and i hate vacuuming!) and a video camera. pete's parents got us a video camera for christmas! when we got home, we plugged that bad boy in to charge so we can start practicing non-shaky, not-so-fast around the room taping before we really want to record events = baby's arrival.

we headed home to set out our stocking for santa and read 'the night before christmas'. pepper and bailey listened intently to the tale and lumbered off to bed with us, awaiting the arrival of santa with dreams of bones, snacks, and parks in their heads!




christmas day: pete, pepper, bailey, and i woke up early with all the christmas excitement of little kids. we immediately checked out our stockings, made hot chocolate, and then opened our presents. pete was such a thoughtful gift-giver this year, making my life easier with a roomba, warmer with a great maternity fleece, and a little more comfortable with a back heater/massager. he received satellite radio items, a gift card for some new shoes, and a few other odds and ends. pepper and bailey made out with stockings full of doggy treats, new collars, nametags, and leashes!!






after exchanging presents and checking out what santa brought, i had quite the cooking/baking list to take care of! i made a scrumptious quiche with artichokes, mushrooms, spinach, and a ton of cheese for brunch with pete's family. i continued the baking with pete's family dressing recipe, and one pumpkin and one pecan pie. phew! our oven got a workout -- more than i think it ever has actually...

we visiting with pete's parents and got ready to go to my parents' house. there we enjoyed a delicious christmas turkey with all the fixings (actually the same meal as thanksgiving, 'cause that is how the costanzo's roll -- it's all about the leftovers with us!). we chowed on pie and played wii. mom and dad got us a video camera, too! how generous of everyone!! it's all kind of funny, and i may have learned a tiny lesson, but pete was going to get one for me, too!

we hope all of our family and friends had a fabulous christmas full of love and laughter as we did! we are so thankful :)

sweet

i was just resting in our bedroom after a long day of painting and organizing (more later) and i heard the sweet sound of a lullaby. i ventured into our family room to see bailey with one of the baby's new presents - a little lamb that plays tunes. i hope bailey learns to share with the baby!

happy holidays a la d+p

check it out! could be cuter, but this took me long enough...

32w+6d

baby green is growing and getting ready for his/her gymnastic debut (that's what it feels like anyway)! we have about 7 weeks left until we get to meet our precious baby!! here is the latest belly pic:


here is bailey wondering what the heck i am doing:

christmas (decor) at the green's

i love slideshows... if you couldn't tell ;)

becca's bowling birthday

becca and gang celebrated her 31st birthday at clayton bowl on sunday, the 9th. everyone had a great time demonstrating their mad bowling skills (maybe an exaggeration!). leslie made the most amazing cupcakes to go with dollar hot dogs, french fries, beer, and fried twinkies. i wasn't able to bowl, but pete played a few great games... and his team would've won if it wasn't for jocelyn! just kidding on that, all the games were friendly, i don't even think anyone knows their scores. jocelyn asked pete to play in his lane and he hesitated, kiddingly. the rest of the day jocelyn insisted pete practices (he shot pretty well) and that he was not okay with her being on the team. pete loved sharing the lane with her, wilson, and stephanie. it was funny to hear joc think that pete practices (or even cares about bowling at all!). some pics (surprised it's a slideshow?):

paychex baby shower

on thursday, amber, my bff from work, threw a baby shower for baby green! amber made delicious hand-held cesar salads, meatballs, fried raviolis, and a variety of dipping sauces. for dessert, we devoured all sorts of treats dipped into a chocolate fountain, yum! thank you to all my guests for our goodies, pete and i very much appreciate every cute little thing. also, amber did a fabulous job and the party was so me :) thank you amber and tammie for all of your hard work!

rockville goings-on

here is a slideshow with a few pics from the costanzo's:

redecorating

pete and i spent the weekend redecorating our bedroom... i have always wanted to paint our bedroom because the vaulted ceilings make the white walls even less welcoming. and if you know me, i hate white walls. we chose a nice chocolate brown (called candy bar brown by benjamin moore) and sandy brown (another b.m. color). the sandy brown isn't much different than the rest of our house (to the untrained eye), but it goes well with the dark brown and white we have in the rest of the room. check out our handywork:

31w+5d

pete and i visited our doctor, dr. le, on thursday for our almost 32-week check-up. we can't believe how fast time is flying by -- with the holidays and baby preparations, i feel like it was yesterday we were celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary. not the case, as that was over 2 months ago! our doctor measured my belly, right on track, and informed us that our baby is about 3.5 pounds at this point. and he said get ready for the weight gain as the growth from here on out is substantial in comparison to the first 30 weeks! we listened to the heartbeat, steady and strong, and can't believe that is our little baby moving around :)

a big thanks to grandma & grandpa steward

on black friday, pete and i met his parents and sister, sara, in dublin to visit babies 'r' us. the crowds weren't bad at all and we were able to get our stroller, car seat, crib, and a few other items! we had a nice time picking out the goodies and are so thankful for their generosity. i haven't had a nightmare about having to leave the baby at the hospital due to lack of proper restraints for the ride home since!

gulf coast blog referencing

so, just wanted to explain the gulf coast gram blog reference:

1. not only does this blogger have the recipe for paula deen's pumpkin cheesecake, she also had a picture (however, this wasn't even the cake we had, though was my intention. the cake we had also came from katrina rozelle's like the tart. i didn't find it very truthful to blog about a cake i didn't make, but def. wanted to share the recipe because it looked amazing and, it was my thanksgiving intention to serve this cake)

2. my mom is from the gulf coast, mobile, ala. specifically, and i thought it was interesting to google this cake and end up here.

3. check out the comment regarding the cake. notice the name? ring any bells? thought that was too ironic (and potentially a sign)...

thanksgiving

we had a ton of yummy turkey and family time this year for thanksgiving! on wednesday night, pete and i had a wonderful evening with his parents and enjoyed a delicious turkey casserole, tons of veggies, a cranberry tart, and pumpkin cheesecake! we made plans to go baby shopping on black friday and headed home for some tryptophan-induced snoozing.

on thanksgiving, pete and i got up super early for brown thursday, shopping at big lots and kmart at the crack of dawn. we were on the search for a recliner for our bedroom and ended up with only a fishing pole from kmart. then we ventured to the dog park for some doggie exercise and headed off to my parents' house to play wii and eat turkey, welsh stuffing, green beans, yams, bread, and pumpkin & pecan pie! we walked off the dinner down by the pond, where my dad, brother, and pete fished for some bluegill and trout. mom and i got too cold, so we went back to the wii to bowl. unfortunately, my ribs have been hurting, so i had to be a spectator - nice that video games can actually be active now-a-days! some dog park pics:

black friday consisted of some leftovers and a trip to dublin (see post).

saturday took us to brentwood where we celebrated the holiday with eric, kaye, patrick, alicia, and fam. this dinner consisted of a bbq'd turkey, as well as a baked one, two stuffings (one of which I believe had clams in it!), mashed potatoes, and an amazing caramel-apple cake. i brought corn muffins (to steve and lucy's, too, they are quite the hit), sausage-stuffed mushrooms, and a black olive/cream cheese dip with Ritz.

thanksgiving sunday included a trip to breakfast with andy (in from hawaii), wilson, and kristin (jason was dirt-bike riding) at nation's in pleasant hill - yum!

i don't know how many calories were consumed this long weekend, or how many cubes of butter were sacrificed, but it was an astronomical amount and i have no desire to ever know. the baby kicked & squirmed around and i do believe enjoyed the scrumptious food!

pond visits!

pepper loves to swim, so we like to take her to my parents' house (and site of our wedding!) to jump off the dock in search of sticks/frisbees/balls/etc. since we got bailey, we've attempted to make her a water dog, too, which she handles well, but she is so independent she runs away when not on a leash. here are a few pics of our adventures:

happy halloween!

here we are carving our pumpkins and setting them up for the big night. pete and i really enjoy handing out candy to all the cute kids. we started our traditional dinner of fat-free crescent dogs (the costanzo's always had hot dogs as a quick dinner before trick-or-treating) and they sounded great to this preggo!

the pumpkin patch(es)

pete and i went to a few patches this year! we visited the pumpkins at apple hill, in dixon, and the usual spot in green valley, Larry's. it was a little early and crowded at apple hill, so we left those pumpkins there. the dixon patch was great, and will be great with kids -- they had wagons for riding around, a guinness book of world records winning corn maze, and the largest patch i've ever seen. we may have visited that patch a little too late in the season as there were very few acceptable pumpkins.



on monday, we went to our regular spot and chose three great carving pumpkins.

25w+6d

on tuesday, pete and i went to another baby check up. we listened to the baby's heartbeat - and to the swooshy sounds of it moving around (a ton!). the movements are getting very strong (esp. for a little one - only about 12 inches and around 3 pounds). i had to take a blood test after drinking an extremely sweet orange-flavored carbonated beverage to detect my glucose levels (a standard test at the end of the 2nd/beg. of 3rd trimester). the results came back and my body processed the sugar well, so we are in the clear of gestational diabetes at this point. we have less than 100 days until the due date!!

apple hill

on sunday, pete and i joined my parents, david and laura on a trip to apple hill for my dad's birthday. we used to visit this place every year around this time -- we'd fish (there is a little pond), visit the craft booths, and eat a slice of apple pie a la mode. we indulged in a few other treats: caramel apples and caramel-covered marshmallows! so many memories rushed back to me when we got there and it was so nice to share them with pete. we look forward to visiting apple hill next year with our little one!

thanks, dev!

a little shout-out to devon for our anniversay present -- a cupcake traveler and cake plate :) here is the first outing to annie's birthday. i made cupcakes from leslie's recipe with funfetti icing -- they got great reviews -- thanks devon and leslie!

first fire of the season

when pete got home from work on tuesday, he surprised the girls and i with a quick-start log and some firewood. we had our first fire of the season! bailey loved looking and it, and pepper, baby, and i took a nap near the warmth. the baby kicked up a storm and pepps and i got in a few good zzzzzz.... such a great evening after a soggy day!

on october 13th...

amy flores and daniel sosa tied the knot at the wild animal park in san diego. the scenery was amazing and so perfect for the couple! we spent a lovely evening rehearsing and eating dinner at the karl strauss brewery. the bridal party, parents, and out of town guests enjoyed a delicious meal with micro-brews and wine. later that night, the girls hung out by the pool, danced to some ipod tunes, and got some rest for the big day. the morning of the big day was jam-packed with hair and make-up appointments and a limo ride to the park. here are julie,emma, and i in the limo - check out emma's expression! the ceremony went off with out a hitch, despite the early day down-poor. amy and daniel are so in love and had a great time at the ceremony and reception. it was a whirl-wind weekend for a preggo, but i am so happy i was there to celebrate with them!

23w+4d

here is a belly pic! i am 23w+4d and so looking forward to our baby :) i just started popping out - hence the lack of pics before now! i will be sure to update weekly so you all can share in my growth!

a traumatic poodle experience

check out bailey on our way to get her first big girl haircut:

such a proud poodle:

and bailey after they had her for 5 hours...

i spent quite a while asking the 'stylist' about bailey's coat and her matted hair. i asked her not to shave her, maybe just cut a little close where she needed to. as you can see, bailey had wonderfully wavy hair that would've covered any shorter areas. i also asked her not cut her in any way 'poodle-y'. i should've known the outcome wasn't going to be what i asked for because the 'stylist' didn't even call to have me pick her up. i think she jetted out of work so she wouldn't be there when i got there.
here's what bailey did later that evening to our white feather duster:

pete and i think she was trying to make herself a new coat.
lesson learned: if you want something done in a specific way, and you can't do it yourself, stay to oversee the job.

current object of my obsession

yesterday, tara and i spent some time looking for baby items. we visited goores, a specialty baby/children's store in sacramento. our goal was to determine a paint color for the nursery by exploring different boy/girl bedding and furniture options. we found some amazing items and think we came to a color conclusion (more on this as i get the palate ready for public viewing).

more importantly, this was the place where i found my current obsession (see minnie mouse bag) mia bossi diaper bags! they look like the most practical purse, yet hold all our little one's needs for outings. i haven't made a final decision on color yet, but this was the best style we found - no top zipper for quick grabs of cloths or bottles, plenty of side pockets, and so much interior room for all the necessary items. my ultimate goal is to make the diaper bag my purse - i can't handle two! - so this brand will lend itself nicely to being all a new mom could ask for! and, for later use, the interior 'diaper bag likeness' can be removed and a laptop carrier/organizer can take its' place - doesn't that scream classy working mom?

the first kick

it happened! pete finally felt the baby kick! i've been feeling the little movements, a.k.a. quickening, for quite a while now and have been wishing for the day to share it with the daddy. while watching the cal game on saturday (by the way, they pulled off a great upset), i felt some strong movement. pete started in with some cal conversation and cheers, hand firmly on my belly in the area of the previous kick - and wham! a nice big one! this, of course, confirms both of our previous predictions. kicking during a cal game = boy, kicking during a cal cheer = girl. i am so happy we don't know the sex of the baby yet because it is too fun trying to figure it out!

just to get it in writing, pop pop called the other day to let us know he thinks the baby is a boy... he also made the prediction a few minutes after we shared the news at his house in millersburg, pa... he said something about him or he in reference to our baby while talking about the pregnancy! we'll have to wait until february to see if he's right!

our anniversary

this weekend, pete and i celebrated our first wedding anniversary! we spent the weekend at home, spending quality time with pepper and bailey and the baby. on saturday, the 29th, we watched the cal game and made lunch. pete bought paper roses for me, which are pretty and symbolic, not only as the traditional first gift, but also because he sent roses on our wedding day, too. i made a frame with a quote from a card he gave me on our first dating anniversary. for dinner, we drove to winters to the buckhorn. this restaurant is quite the costanzo family tradition for special occasions, so i have many memories of the place. pete and i announced our pregnancy to my family over dinner there, too! in addition, their catering department catered our wedding, so it was an obvious first choice for our first anniversary! i ordered the most amazing lobster (surprised?) and we had yummy mud pie as a dessert! on sunday, we napped (i have been so tired the last week), and spent time at my parent's house before coming home and trying our year old wedding cake. btw, this is totally something i encourage for tradition's sake, but get an extra cake to actually eat! i got a little worried by an odd flavor, so to ward off any food poisoning for the baby and i, we passed the cake on after the first bite. pete also surprised me with the modern first anniversary gift of a clock, which we desperately needed! he went to hamilton house and got help from my mom, she even broke out the paint wheel to make sure it would look great on our wall! all and all , we had a great first year and first year celebration!! we thank all those who sent well wishes and have been there for us this last year... we're on to year two and an addition to the family now!

** click on the title 'our anniversary' for pics... i'll learn how to post for real some time :)

cooking and other domestics

some say when you become a wife-y, it's time to strap on that apron and get vaccuming... maybe not in that order, but 'taking care of' your hubby and your house is to be high on your list of priorities. if cooking meals means baking chicken with a dash of season salt, tossing a bagged salad, and steaming frozen veggies, i am a master. if cleaning means decorating the entire house when your husband is out of town, i take the cake. lately, however, i haven't been so proud of my routine. my cooking (and variety) doesn't come close to what i think it should be when children are involved and my cleaning (deeply or even picking up) is no where near the tidyness level for infants to crawl around. so, enter this site, a great tool to get and keep me on top of my wife-y and motherly game!

five-month ultrasound

cute, huh?

we had our five-month ultrasound today. baby green is growing so well! i am doing such a good job :). this is the appointment that requires extra attention from the ultrasound operator, so it wasn't a chatty appointment, but very neat just the same. guests aren't allowed in the room until the end and pete wasn't able to be there, so i was all alone watching our baby move for about an hour. the operator takes shots of all sorts of cool things: ventricles of the heart,bladder,umbilical cord, etc. taking a profile was difficult because apparently babies in utero find their thumbs around this time! we had to 'catch' the baby with their thumb out for a profile pic - in the picture above, you can see his/her hand just above the head. the operator also measures the baby and stated an expected due date of january 28th. i guess due dates don't change from this check-up unless they are 14 days different than the original estimate -- looks like february 3rd holds ground!

First Sonogram!

Baby Green was 2.3 cm at 9 weeks

and 3.0 cm at 9 weeks and 5 days!

Everything is great and the baby is growing well...

Also, the debate has begun. I saw a dancing machine = girl, pete saw an olympic swimmer = boy... either way, the baby was moving all over the place waving its bitty hands and feet!!

ok, that's all the gooshy-mom-stuff from me! for now.