Post-Grad and Loving It: 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

37 Weeks and FULL TERM!

I can’t believe we are at 37 weeks already – and considered “full term!” The baby could really come ANY DAY now! I’m still 2½ weeks from my due date (July 6^th), but she could come early. My sister-in-law is due July 9th, and it's a race to the finish! Either of us could deliver our baby girls at any point! We are also on our “once-a-week” appointments where they check to see if I am dilating/effaced. Last Friday, they said I was already 1cm dilated and 70% effaced! By definition, effacement is, “the process by which the cervix prepares for delivery. After the baby has engaged in the pelvis, it gradually drops closer to the cervix; the cervix gradually softens, shortens and becomes thinner.” She also is sitting very low and is head-down (position for delivery). However, she could sit this way for another 3 weeks….just because she is progressing doesn’t mean she will continue to progress this quickly. We will find out on Thursday morning if she has progressed any further!

Anyways, I know I said I’d try and update the blog more…it looks like I’m slacking, since my last post was a month ago! But, here we go:

We have finished the nursery!! I will post pics at the bottom. We went with a grey, light pink and white theme. The room isn’t huge but it doesn’t need to be for someone so tiny! I want to give a shout out to my sorority sister, Yasaman Kazemi, for painting Olivia's monogram wall hanging! It looks so great!! Also, we also have finished the guest room, and we hung up our puzzles as pictures since Patrick and I love puzzles. Plus they are different places in the world and a world map so they aren’t too terrible. Hope our guests don’t mind them!

Patrick and I decided to do a little beach getaway for Memorial Day weekend, since it will be our last trip as just us two. We had SUCH a great time- we even met up with my college sorority sister, Sarah Baker, and her husband and their baby girl Madelyn since they moved to Norfolk/VA Beach area. We hung out at the rooftop pool and bar at our hotel, and we all went to see Jimmy Buffett in concert. Seeing little Madelyn made us so excited for Olivia Grace to get here!

We also had another WONDERFUL baby shower at the Laiti house. It was a pool party, and TWO of my best friends from college, Caroline Johnson and Jessica Salomon, came into town for it! It was so much fun, and so nice to see them both. A ton of Patrick’s friends came down for it as well. Being able to see all our family and friends in one place before the baby gets here was the best! We also went to see Patrick’s old roommate, Frank Keel, coach our old High School Lacrosse team to win the VA State tournament! Go Rams!

Last weekend, we celebrated Father's Day with my parents first then his parents. Even though Patrick is a "father-to-be," we still celebrated Father's Day with cards and gifts (yes, I got him Madden 25 and a new set of PS3 headphones to hold him over until the new Madden is out!). We then went to hang out with my parents at our community pool, then hung out with his family at their house and grilled. It is so nice to be so close to our families, and that our families get along so well.

Ok so enough rambling- here are the pics!

37 Weeks!

Baby Shower evening shenanigans!

Caroline at the Baby Shower!

Jessica, Christina and I at the Baby Shower!

Jimmy Buffett Concert with Sarah, Clint, and Madelyn!

Beach Trip!

Father's Day!

Panoramic View of Olivia Grace's room!

Smaller, detailed images of Olivia Grace's room!

I swear she has more clothes than I do...and this is just one drawer! The others are filled, too!


Smaller, detailed images of Olivia Grace's room!

The crib!

Smaller, detailed images of Olivia Grace's room!

Her closet is STUFFED!

We hung this inside the doorway to remind her to say her prayers, and know God is always there!

Robinson Men's Lacrosse Coach Frank: Division, Region, and STATE CHAMPS!

Guest Room!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Recap of the Last Month

So it has been over a MONTH since my last post! I can't believe I am at 33 weeks (she measures like I am 34 weeks) and have less than 7 weeks left! Patrick and I have been SO busy with our house renovations that I kept forgetting to update here! We are ALMOST DONE so I am waiting to post all the pictures until it’s finished. We have renovated one bathroom, the guest room, the baby’s room, the back patio (and bought patio furniture), and soon the back room will be finished to lead out to the patio! We are also looking into fencing the backyard.

Because I am at 33 weeks, I am starting to have appointments every two weeks instead of once a month. Soon (around 36 weeks) I will have appointments every week! I can't believe how quickly this has flown by! Also, my glucose test came back completely normal (although the lab lost my results so I had to drink the icky liquid twice), and so far my weight and belly/baby growth have been perfectly on track! Let's hope this keeps up!

Last month, Patrick opened for Rick Ross at Echostage in DC! We took two party buses and took up almost the whole VIP area with tables. He and Malcom had an incredible performance with no flaws, and everything went smoothly! My Aunt Amy also came into town to see him perform, and it was also her and my mom’s birthday weekend so we had a big birthday celebration for them. It was great to have her in town! If you want to check out any of Patrick and Malcom's songs or videos from the show, you can find the link to their website here: http://houseofsyntax.com/ or you can become a fan of his page on facebook, "Treece" at https://www.facebook.com/houseofsyntax.

We had a wonderful Easter at Patrick’s grandparents on the Laiti side, and I got to spend some time with my belly buddy/sister-in-law! We are only 3 days apart in due dates, both expecting July babies. We did the Easter celebration the weekend before Easter, which was nice because on actual Easter Sunday, Patrick picked up my stomach bug I had so we had a very low-key Easter watching Passion of the Christ and making dinner.

On Mother's Day, we spent some time with my family and then some time with Patrick's family, celebrating both of our mothers. I also woke up to a wonderful surprise from Patrick: Beautiful flowers, chocolate cookies, and TWO cards! He really spoils me. The whole day was so nice because we were able to celebrate the two most important women in our lives (our mothers), and Patrick was sweet enough to celebrate me even though I am a mom-to-be.

This past weekend, my sister graduated Summa cum laude from George Mason University! I am so proud of her and all she has accomplished. My grandmother came into town to see her graduate. Patrick couldn’t come to her graduation because he was celebrating two graduations in his family- his two younger brothers both graduated from Virginia Tech over the weekend! I was sad that the graduations overlapped, but we each got to spend time with our families and I know they had fun down in Blacksburg!

On Sunday (yesterday), my mom’s wonderful friend Amy hosted my first baby shower! It was at her beautiful home in Old Town Alexandria. We did a southern theme: sweet tea, pink lemonade, mason jars, and lots of flowers and country music! The weather turned out perfect, and we had it both indoor and outdoor. Guests decorated onesies for Olivia Grace, and also created a scrapbook page for her scrapbook. We couldn’t have asked for a better shower with wonderful friends and family, and the amount of love on that day was incredible. Our little family is so very blessed with the most caring people!

Below you will find picture recaps from the past month! Hopefully my next post will be a lot sooner.

-LL

My sister and I before the show!

Patrick and I before the show!

The girls before the show!

At Echostage!

Birthday girls! Mom and Aunt Amy

Brunch in Georgetown with my friend Rachel who was in town for the Nike Women's Half!

Mother's Day with my momma

Easter with my belly buddy/sister-in-law!

Graduation!

Baby Shower!

Baby Shower with my friends from HS!

Baby Shower with the DGs!

The wonderful host Amy!

Baby Shower!

Craft Table! Design a onesie for Olivia Grace and also personalize a scrapbook page.

Refreshments table- Personalized mason jars, sweet tea, pink lemonade, and beer/wine.

Jogging Stroller I registered for! Obviously in orange/grey.

Some of the decorated onesies!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

3D Ultrasound and New Car!

So this has been a very busy week that is only going to continue to get busier!

First off, we had the 2nd Annual Drink for Pink Event at Kilroy's on Saturday, which raised money for Breast Cancer research and the Avon foundation. Our friends Laura Genovese and Betsy Toler hosted the event, in honor of their late mothers who passed on from breast cancer. Patrick and his dad's band, Waiting Man, performed the event. We also had t-shirts and raffle prizes. Overall, we raised over $4500! It was such a great event with great people.

On Sunday, Patrick and I decided to go look for a new car for me! I had a beautiful BMW sedan, but knew with a baby coming I would need an SUV so it will be easier with a car seat as well as for safety. Basically I knew it was time to get rid of the "fun" car for a "mom" car! We knew we would look for a car for me in the next few months, but of course we had a series of events that led up to us going Sunday. A few days before, the fan on my A/C unit stopped working, as well as a few things regarding it. I'd never had problems with my car until this- and of course it happened not even two months after my warranty expired! Since it wasn't under warranty, it was going to be VERY expensive to fix. We would have renewed the warranty, but it wasn't worth it when we knew we would be selling the car soon anyways. So, we decided: What better time to car shop than now? We went to Carmax as our first stop, and they offered us a GREAT deal on my car as a trade-in (exactly what Kelley Blue Book said my car was worth!), and we found the exact car I had been wanting as an SUV! They also said my BMW was in perfect condition (guess they didn't notice the air not blowing on the A/C, since all the electrical parts still worked). The SUV we found though was in the right year, exterior color, and interior color I was hoping to find. It had under 20,000 miles, and was priced perfectly. The warranty is also 6 years or 100,000 miles, since we will have this car for a long time. So, we traded in my 2008 BMW 328i for the 2012 Mercedes GLK350. If you know me, you know that I have always been a BMW lover. The one I had before this one was a 2002 and never had any problems. The only reason we got rid of it was because it was getting old and had high mileage from driving back and forth from college. Even though I have transitioned to Mercedes, I still have love for BMW! Patrick and I are so very blessed to have amazing careers that allow us to make these kind of purchases and still live comfortably. I am also very lucky to have someone who is great with money, as he is a Financial Controller for the company he works at.

For those of you who haven't kept track, I just hit my 3rd and final trimester! Time is FLYING by! So yesterday, we decided to do a 3D ultrasound of what baby Olivia looks like! It was very emotional as we got to see her adorable face. We watched her moving around in real-time! She sucked her thumb, rubbed her eyes, and stretched out. It was incredible to see this live! She was kicking my stomach pretty hard the whole time. Apparently she also has a lot of hair on her head! The ultrasound tech showed us how it appears when we do a 2D (the black and white flat) ultrasound, but it doesn't show on these 3D ones, so she would flip back and forth from 2D to 3D. Since I am only 27.5 weeks along (she measures like I am 28.5), this is exactly what she will look like when she pops out, except she will be bigger! She only has a little fat on her right now, and the next 3 months will be devoted to her getting her "baby fat" and filling out more than the ultrasound shows (which is why she is so tiny in them!). She is only around 15inches long (the size of a cucumber) and 2.2lbs heavy right now. She will continue to bulk up and her organs will develop more as the last trimester finishes.

The place we went to takes screen shots of the baby and also records the entire 20-minute ultrasound. It's really neat! We brought my parents and sister, as well as Patrick’s mom. His dad had a lot going on at work that day. We decided to bring our family since they don’t attend check-ups with us, and this is separate from our O.B. appointments. We wanted to be able to do something with them to involve them with the baby.

Tomorrow, I have my glucose test scheduled with my O.B. This is where they make me drink a nasty liquid and can’t use the restroom for an hour, so they can test me for pregnancy diabetes. This is a standard test every pregnant woman endures. It is not uncommon to get pregnancy diabetes from the rapid weight gain and sweet cravings that come with it! Let’s hope for a clear test. Also, my mom’s sister is visiting tomorrow for my mom’s birthday as well as my aunt’s birthday weekend! We can’t wait to see her.

On Friday, my husband is opening for RICK ROSS with his music! We are so thrilled to be a part of such a big event in DC. He and his bandmates, Ali and Malcom, will be rapping and DJing as an opener for Rick Ross at Echostage. Echostage hosts about 5-6,000 people. We had to sell 300 tickets in the agreement to promote the show, and we’re excited to say we have sold out! We also have 2 party buses going to the event, and we got a couple VIP tables. I am so proud of Patrick and all he has done in his music career. If you want to check out some of his music he does on the side, you can look up his facebook page “Treece,” or go to his website at www.houseofsyntax.com.

Although I'm sad to be missing the Tennessee Spring game on Saturday, I am so excited to watch my husband perform Friday doing something he loves and is passionate about, as well as see my aunt come in for the weekend! I'll definitely miss all my DG sisters and Knoxville friends, who have been SO wonderful reaching out and sending things for baby Olivia throughout my pregnancy. I hope everyone has an amazing time Saturday and of COURSE I will be wearing orange! We aren't the #1 tailgating school for nothing!

Next week I’ll post pictures of the event, as well as results from my appointment! As for now, enjoy the 3D ultrasound pictures of Olivia (if they don’t creep you out), and if I can figure out how to post little video snips from the DVD they gave us I will!

-LL