36w+4d

we just returned from a visit to dr. le! our baby is growing well and dr. le estimates he or she is about 6.5 pounds now :) i am dilated .5 cm, small as it is, only 1/20th of the way to the necessary 10 cm, it's a start! every bit we can go through now, relatively painlessly, is that much less we'll have when active labor begins. i think that's good news, personally! baby green is moving around like a maniac (which surprisingly kind-of hurts). i also started the baby book! here is another horrible belly pic and the first page to the album:

really starting to stick out there, huh?

it says, estimated arrival:, arrival:, h:, l:. w:

the bottom sticker is a hospital band that says new baby

25 days and counting

hamilton house has some amazing countdown calendars that i just love! for christmas, mom gave pete and i one that we can use to track the remaining 25 days until our baby's due date... today was day 25! here's a picture of the calendar and our first ornament:

it's been waiting for this day since christmas...

our first ornament = 'dream'

i'll try to post pics every now and then so you can see the progress of the tree!

less than one month!!

pete and i are getting so excited about our baby's arrival -- less than one month away (if all goes according to plan!). i've washed some clothes for the baby to come home in and am almost finished packing for our hospital trip. the car seat still needs to be practiced with (and the car in need of some detailing), but other than that, all necessities are ready to go! i'm busy with non-essentials, though. here is my to-do list for the remainder of the weekend:

1. organize the spare bedroom -- never know who will come and need a place to rest their head! check 1/6 - all ready house guests!
2. go through each closet -- i have clothes coming out my ears! a donation truck is coming by on the 8th... my goal is to have everything ready to go for them to take away! check 1/6 (but still need to remember to place it outside... memory lapses are common, so i'll have to keep reminding myself!) outside and picked up 1/8
3. complete packing of hospital bag with 'luxuries' like my special pillow and favorite lip balm waiting on this -- need to make a trip to sephora for some special nice-ities
4. review labor + delivery dvd (may hold off on this until les is available to watch with me!) def. waiting for a friend (or hubby) to check this off
5. clean out garage check!
6. decorate for valentine's day waiting for h.h. to open tomorrow :) got it all together 1/8
7. get a better system going in the kitchen (we have great accessories, but not enough space... kind of driving us nuts when we want to make waffles) not quite yet... not sure if it'll ever happen, we just don't have enough room -- no amount of organization will change that :(
8. clean out fridge check 1/6 and did the pantry, too!
9. reorganize (for the 3rd time since moving here) my scrapbooking materials, sewing to-do's, and paychex + personal office jazz has been scheduled for 1/7 evening after work! done 1/7

ok, better get to it... yippee! i am checking off this entire list... bag + dvd later :)

wedding pics

i meant to upload pictures of our wedding early on in my blogging. due to my blogging inexperience, and other exciting events, i never got around to it. recently, i received a request from devon to see some shots. she put a little fire under me, so here they are:

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: