Week 29

We have made it to the third trimester!! Here is another weekly update from babycenter.com

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

This week has been a busy week preparing for the baby's arrival. We have started calling/researching childcare facilities to see what our options are when I go back to work. We had a tour yesterday of a childcare center and today look at an in-home option. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek out the best option for our child.

Last night was quite the adventure - we had our first (of five) childbirth education class. My friend had recently been through the classes and given me a lot of the highlights but it really had so much more to offer than I expected. I think we are really going to enjoy the class and look forward to the upcoming weeks.

This weekend there are going to be TWO baby showers for Baby Tarwacki! Amy and Janie (Pete's sister and mom) are throwing the first one - it will be an open house, come and go shower. My colleagues from Anthony Travel are throwing one that will be at my friends house - it will be an afternoon party out by the pool. We are blessed to have so many supportive and generous family members and friends around us as we prepare for this next chapter in our life. God is so good!

This concludes the week 29 update. Next week we will be sure to include photos from the baby showers.

Week 28

Here is the weekly update on the baby's growth according to babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

The past few weeks have been busy with work, family and friends. For the 4th of July we went to Janie's house (Grandma-to-be) for a cookout and birthday celebration for Pete's grandma (great grandmother-to-be). We had great food and a fun time! After the party we got a group together to go watch fireworks in Plymouth. This has been a tradition of our for the past 5 or so years. It is the best fireworks show I think I have ever seen and I look forward to it every year. The evening involved Frisbee, elephant ears, games and ended with the grand finale show!! This year the finale was louder and brighter than ever and I think that baby Tarwacki really enjoyed them :) Here are a couple of photos from that evening:

TN Baby Shower

On Sunday, June 27th my mom and best friend Jackie threw Baby Tarwacki a baby shower. With the help of Jackie's mom Connie and my sister-in-law Christine they put together quite the party! There was about 25 of my friends there from all different points of my life. It was a mini bff reunion when Rachael showed up to spend some time with me and Jackie and I felt old when I saw Dorothy (I used to babysit her and her brother Wayne) and she was all grown up and told me she was almost done with college!! It was so great to catch up with everyone. From my 2nd moms to church friends to seeing Ruth, Lindsay & Pam... it was awesome!!

Needless to say, it was very special time of togetherness and Baby Tarwacki was blessed by so many special gifts. I really enjoy my time with my family and friends and am so thankful for all of their love and support. During the shower the guys (my dad, brother, nephew and Pete) and headed to the Lookout's Stadium to watch a game.

Here are some photos Jackie sent me from the shower:

The food - the petifor cakes were from Jackson's Bakery - yum!!

Aiden asked me why none of the gifts were for me and they were all only for the baby - Such a cutie!!

BFF reunion - Rachael, me & Jackie :)

Christine, Becca & Jen - I love these girls!

Me with Jackie, Connie & my mom - thanks for hosting an amazing shower!!

Trip down South

June 23rd, Pete and I made our way down to the Atlanta area to spend the weekend with my brother and his family. We decided to take a mini vacation before I got too uncomfortable to travel. We had a nice visit and really got to relax! A few of the highlights included

• A fashion show put on by the nieces
• Girls spa night
• The guys did an outdoor speaker wiring project
• Shopping and Dairy Queen with the nieces
  
• White Water (Six Flags Water Park)
• Banana Pudding

We had such a nice and relaxing time. I didn't take many photos during the visit but here are of few that I took with my phone:

Riley and Aunt Ruth

Aiden and Zoe

We stayed at my brother's place until Sunday which is when we made our way up to Chattanooga, TN to spend some time with my family and attend a baby shower my mom and best friend were throwing for the baby. More to come on that....

Ultrasound

On Tuesday Pete went with me for my checkup and we had an ultrasound done :) The baby was pretty relaxed during the procedure and took a few good photos. We got to see the baby's heart, lungs and kidneys and everything is developing right on track! We are in the 52 percentile for growth and development so not too big and not too small - just right :) The baby weighed in at 1pound, 4ounces and appears to be as healthy as can be :) It was nice to have Pete there with me and for him to get to "meet" our baby.

I am including a couple of photos for you all to see. This first one is a nice profile picture - the baby even has it's mouth open a bit.
This second one is a nice photo of the baby's foot. Oh, so, cute! :) Hope you enjoy!!

Today starts week 23 so I'll include the baby's progress according to babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Voting Time

Well, we have decided not to find out what we are having. We think it might be fun to be surprised and hopes it adds to the excitement a bit :)

So...with that being said, we need your help. We have found three different bedding types that we like for the nursery - all of them are neutral and super cute. We would like your help in picking out which one to get. Please cast your votes in the comment section if you would like to help out...

Option #1


Option #2


Option #3


Thanks for your help :)

Week 20

Week 20 was off to a busy start! Pete had a guys night & went camping while I went to Cincinnati to see my best friend and her family! We both had a great time with our friends. I tried to get a photo of the guys but it was just too dark out there for them to get a decent photo :) I am including one of me and Jackie below...



Sunday we went to a wedding where I got my 20 week photo taken... I have really started to show over the past few days!! Here you go...