Gender Reveal Party

We had our gender scan ultrasound on Friday at 10:30 in the morning. I don't know why but we were both so nervous! I was excited about the gender reveal but we were also doing the last intensive ultrasound screening for any problems. The first thing that popped onto the screen was Baby's heart...beating like crazy! The doctor did about a 5 minute exam just on the heart...it felt like forever! The Baby was moving like crazy and we finally got to see a profile. Baby was sticking it's tongue out at us and kept puckering out its lips. She measured everything and anything...she showed us the brain, legs and toes, arms and fingers and even baby's buldging belly!

Finally, she said "Do you want to know? Cause the baby is spread eagle!" Neal and I holding hands squeezed and squealed "YES!" The doctor said

"IT'S A GIRL!"

For the first time in our pregnancy I teared up. I looked over at Neal and he was tearing up too! We've seen Baby a crazy amount of time but I think it was just the thought that we are actually connecting and identifying with the baby...we can now call the baby "her", "she", "our daughter", "little girl", etc...At first I was in shock cause I truly believed that it was a boy. All my symptoms (or lack of!), myths, people's guesses pointed to a boy. We got to spend a total of 30 mins with HER! I can't believe how much she moves around!!!

We then went back into the waiting room for our next appointment with our OB and in the waiting room I teared up a little more! I didn't think this appointment would make me so emotional! Maybe cause I thought it was a boy this whole time and I was 'tough'...but now that it's a girl I'm getting all the hormones get to me!!! Neal's first comment was "She's going to be a golfer and get a scholarship for college!" :) Our appointment with the doctor went great as well. She said the Baby is hitting all her milestones and is right on track with her due date. She said all the screening looks great and we have a very healthy baby! That was another emotional roller coaster I'm glad we got over with!

We headed to Cheesecake Factory and had a Lunch Celebration. Neal rambled on about how great it would be that we don't have to buy motorcycles and expensive cars but then had a mini-heart attack when he realized we would have to pay for a wedding! On the way to do errands all the songs we kept hearing were about little girls! It was hilarious! We spent the afternoon getting all our last minute things for the party...we were on a hunt for a toy rifle but couldn't find one! I hate it when you need something and can't find it anywhere!

On Saturday I woke up at 5 to the pouring rain and couldn't go back to sleep cause I was so paranoid about guests parking and walking in the rain. The weather channel kept saying that it was going to be a record breaking cold day...possibly snow!!! I kept thinking..."GREAT! the one day we throw a party it decides to snow in Southern California!" But by 9:00 the sun came out and it was so beautiful! It turned out great!

Here was our setup...the theme was Blue for Boy and Purple for Girl! We also had guests come in blue or purple...it was a success! We decorated the wall with tissue puff balls, pictures from everyone's reaction when we announced we were expecting and a table with necklaces, name suggestion game, poppers and candy table.

We had amazing food that was catered through the Manalos and Emerys! We had Stuffed Mushrooms, Chicken Albondigas, Seafood Paella, Chicken Tetrazinni, Spinach Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Boiling Crab Shrimp and Corn, Prime Rib, Filet Mignon, Chicken Tenders, Flan, Chocolate Fondue with fruits and bread, and a treat table with popcorn, M&Ms, Meringues. And of course Coronas and Margaritas!

This is how we announced that we are having a Baby Girl!

With the short amount of time of finding out...we couldn't preorder a Baby Costume (I really wanted to get a onesie!) so when we found out we went straight to party city and found anything Baby Purple related. We came up with a purple baby bottle and lollipop. I quickly made a baby bonnet, bib and diaper. Luckily, Neal is such a good sport and commited to coming out dressed like this! (he even contemplated not wearing pants!-always a comedian)

Everyone was so surprised that it was a girl cause I would say 80% were wearing blue...but I think they were even more surprised of how Neal came out in a diaper!

We have such amazing family and friends that always support and celebrate with us and we couldn't be happier that they could be there to help us start a life with Baby! It was an amazing party and great memories. Baby already has so many people loving her!!! We really are lucky and couldn't do this without any of them.

We want to thank our parents who cooked like crazy and helped set up and clean up. They are caring, thoughtful and amazing parents to the both of us and we know that they will be even more to their grandchild. We want to thank Lola, Grandma Julia and Grandma Emery for making it out and sporting their colors even in the freezing weather! Baby is so lucky to have loving great-grandmas ready to snuggle and love her. We also thank the future aunties Maggie and Paula...she is going to be so spoiled with their fashion sense, energy and protection from her aunties. And we thank the rest of our family and friends who took the time out of their day to help us celebrate Baby Girl Emery!!! We are so thankful for everyone and it's comforting to know that we have so many people already loving her!!!

And last but not least...I want to thank my WONDERFUL, SUPPORTIVE, LOVING husband who has held my hand through everything. He loved the Baby before we were even pregnant and I know he will be such a great Dad. Throughout the 19 weeks of our pregnancy I've never seen him grow up so much in such a short amount of time. He has gone to every appointment, stayed on top of everything going on, read a baby book, has taken over drastically over the house chores, rubbed my back when it's sore, help me walk when I get a sciatica attack, plan for our future, be an amazing Daddy to Socks, is excelling and achieving in his career, has been a great son, grandson and friend to everyone and all this while still being the sweet, HILARIOUS, loving husband he is to me.

Him holding my hand during appointments goes such a long way, him rubbing my back every night without me having to ask, him dealing with all the paperwork and financial things with pregnancy, him scrubbing our bathrooms and kitchen so I wouldn't have to, him making me be able to laugh when I've had such a tiring day and him agreeing to all my shinanigans of having a Gender Reveal Party to dressing up like a Baby means so much to me and the Baby. My pregnancy has been very relaxing and easy so far and I owe most of the credit to Neal. I appreciate everything he does and our friendship and love has grown so much in these last few months...we're learning so much everday and am glad that we are doing it together. He makes me feel beautiful everyday and knows the exact time when I need a hug and a kiss. Socks, Baby and I are the luckiest girls in the world!

19 Weeks!

Gender: ??? Less than 24 hours til we know!


Movement: same flutter/tingly feeling on the left side.

Sleep: Slept early this week..mostly cause Neal worked late at home and I got bored! Snoring is now kind of under control...I only knudge a few times to turn on his side around 5 in the morning.

What I miss: Vanilla Latte from Starbucks...the REAL coffee!

Cravings: Update: I finally got my tuna melt this week...I almost cried when I got it...a had a silly smile on my face walking back to work and told myself to stop but ended up giggling...(something's wrong with me!)
Spicy anything!!! and sour candies.


Symptoms: Horrible back pain on Sunday! We cleaned the garage and went to a party and by the end of the night I couldn't even walk! First experienced 'round ligament'. On Tuesday had these weird feelings in my stomach...the feeling like when you've waited to pee for so long and you finally go but your stomach only hurts more. It felt like my stomach was dropping. I was concerned until I asked one my friends if it was normal. She mentioned that it's just the uterus stretching. My next source was the internet...and the first thing that popped up for week 19 was "you might be experience round ligament...sharp, dull abdominal pain..." I totally felt it when I stood up or drastically changed positions. There's no stopping this baby from growing!

I had my second dream of the Baby. I actually gave birth! In my parents living room with Lola and Maggie there. Maggie seemed freaked out and Lola was like "just push it out!". It was a girl!!!

Current Mood:  Was uncomfortable the first part of the week but I think the excitement of seeing Baby has taken over!

Random Updates: Surprisingly work has gone pretty fast for me this week...thank goodness it's busy cause I don't know how I would've gotten through this week! Neal has been super busy with work as well...but fortunately has been able to work on it at home. Socks found her new favorite toy again..the frisbee...she finally figured out how to bring it with her under our bed. I'm not sure why but she likes to store all her toys there...as if we would steal it from her!
Our house is currently covered in a sea of blue and purple shinanigans! Our families are super excited and there are now bets going on! The gender prediction has made a sudden swing from boy to girl...at first I kept hearing that it was a boy but all this week I've been hearing girl! So excited for the next few days...hopefully Baby's legs won't be crossed...or else I'll be staking out on that table til Baby uncrosses!

18 Weeks

Gender: ???


Movement: A little cramping and 'stretching' feeling...baby loves playing on my left side!

Sleep: We invested in some nasal strips and they seem to be working...sometimes! But now Socks has a habit around 5:30 in the morning of playing in bed like a fish out of water. I don't know if she's stretching, scratching her face or what! But she creates quite a show every morning...this morning I watched her bark softly in her sleep and her legs moving like she was running with her tail wagging like crazy...I wonder what she was dreaming about!

What I miss: I really wanted a Promegranate Martini on Valentines Day but settled for a Strawberry Lemonade.

Cravings: Tuna Melt...I've been a hunt for this for about 2 weeks! Rainbow Sherbert Ice Cream from Rite Aid!!! What's even more AMAZING is that it gives me the lowest number for my evening snack for my first morning blood test...SCORE!


Symptoms: none...does that mean this baby will be a clam, quiet little one?

Current Mood:  Excited and bursting with ideas for Baby Gender Reveal Party.

Random Updates: I went in for my last blood test for prenantal screening. So far everything looks normal. This weekend we have a few parties to attend and we're also trying to get ready for our first party we are throwing. Neal signed up for another Golf Tournament...I think he's trying to get all the golf he can get in before the baby gets here!

I have two close people to me tell me that they are expecting as well...all within 5 mins of each other. I was estatic and jumping out of my skin! It's like I found out I was pregnant all over again! Such a wonderful feeling to share with these amazing people!

Slowly getting ready for the Big Reveal! =D It was perfect timing...all the decorations, plates, etc..where buy 1 get 1 free at Party City!

Found a very inexpensive way to decorate. Made 21 of these little suckers. Neal did 1...he said "I'm not good at it" and gave up! hahaha

And here's the little girl playing with me this morning...she kept trying to lick the lens!

She's almost 2!!!

Our First Valentines Celebration

Isn't it odd to hear that this is our first Valentines Dinner?

We've been together for over 5 years and finally we went out to dinner on our 6th Valentine's Day together!

The first 2 years we were always in studio at school so that was kind of our date...the 3rd year we just started working, the 4th year we just got married and was settling in after our honeymoon and the 5th year we had a party for my birthday

(I guess it doesn't help that my birthday is so close either!)

So lucky #6 Valentine's Day we went out with the rest of the world and we had a blast!

We went to Macaroni Grill and I got the Chicken Parmesan and Neal got Chicken Alfredo. We have our dinners out down to a system! We stalk up on the "free" food...in this case the bread and eat half of our dinner and take the rest for lunch the next day...we're so economical! We're starting to adjust for when the Baby comes but we still have to have a little fun so this is the best combination!

Not to mention I had a $5 coupon and free Chocolate Birthday Cake to redeem!

This is a little inside joke that happened that afternoon. We were taking Socks out to potty and there was a lady that was going for a walk that was TERRIFIED of Socks. We looked at her kind of funny thinking: "She's so cute and little...she's not going to attack you...she's actually scared of you". I guess we convinced her that Socks was harmless and she proceeded to walk in front of our garage...to our surprise...Socks sprinted towards her to get a little whiff of her. This lady (in her Indian Sari wrap outfit) went CRAZY and started flailing her arms like she was swimming through the street screaming "I SAID NOOO, NOOOO, NOOO DOGS! I SAID NOOOOOOOOO!" I know I shouldn't have laughed but I actually bursted out in tears amazed at how much she overreacted and was freaking out. Neal was trying to hold his laughter in cause its very echoey on our street but he couldn't hold it in either! And then there was Socks who looked up at us wondering why we were laughing hysterically with her cute puppy eyes.

How could anyone be scared of this cute Cupid Puppy???

I woke up today still laughing at the crazy lady who thought a shark was attacking her...she just needs 1 lick and hug from Socks and she would just love her to death!!!

We ended the evening with the fam bam on the couch...Socks giving us hugs and kisses and me falling asleep with the wonderful hubby giving me a foot rub! Happy Valentines Day!!!

27th Birthday Weekend

I got beautiful flowers and chocolates when I got back to work after lunch on Friday!

Such a sweet hubby!!!

We had a fabulous dinner at Benihana...even the slightly burnt fried rice!

I got awesome presents...

And a very delicious "Diabetic Friendly" Birthday Cake!

On Saturday we had lunch with my parents at El Torito...This present isn't for me...it's for Socks from her sweet cousin Siopao!

Cute lacey top from the sistah!

Even Baby got a present! Cocoa Butter Lotion!!!

Here's us making fun of my mom...she wanted to "Pinky Swear" with my Dad and she held out a hang-loose sign instead!

My hubby took me shopping the rest of the afternoon though it was mostly window shopping on my end! I've been in a shopping funk...I guess I'm waiting for the summer clothes to come out to sport this pregnancy. Instead we got stuff for our Gender Reveal Party!

I guess Neal got pooped out and had to take a nap...so Socks and I went on a stroll and went shopping at Michaels...she had a blast as usual with everyone telling her she's cute and wanting to pet her.

After Neal got his beauty rest (sometimes I think he's the one that gets my pregnancy symptoms) we ended the evening off with dinner at the Spectrum and got my current craving for Sour Apple Gummies, Lemon-Lime Jelly Beans and Sour Strawberry Belts (YUM!)

Thank you to everyone for the warm birthday wishes and to my family and friends who helped me celebrate my 27th birthday!

Week 17

Gender: ???

Movement: I feel little flutters on my left side

Sleep: I need to invest in some earplugs due to Neal's snoring. His snoring isn't any different than before...it's just that I think my sense of hearing has heightened! I even tried to cover my ears with my pillow and stick another pillow barrier by his mouth!

What I miss: Eating deli sandwiches!

Cravings: Had a horrible appetite this week. Didn't feel like eating anything but had to so baby can grow..


Symptoms: Slight back pain and irritated skin

Current Mood:  Anxious about our appointment in 2 weeks to find out if Baby is a boy or girl!

Random Updates: Socks has finished her medication and we think she is 100% recovered from her little illness. Neal is slowly getting over his pulled back from playing golf. We're putting our party pants on for my 27th Birthday this weekend!!! Neal seems to think that it's so cool to say that I can be pregnant and have a birthday all in one day!

16 Weeks & Update on Socks

We're on week 16!!! Only 3 more weeks and we get to find out what Baby is! I can't believe that in 4 weeks we'll be halfway DONE!

Everything's been going really well except even the faint sound of Neal snoring wakes me up but other than that my glucose numbers are under control, sciatica back pains have slowly disappeared, my hands aren't falling asleep out of nowhere and I get nightly foot massages from Neal!!! Every morning and night we have a little fam bam meeting where Neal talks to the Baby and Socks is right along side with him kissing Neal and my tummy. I don't think she knows why Neal talks to my stomach but she's not for one to miss out on the action...

Baby's the size of an avocado...though I've been avoiding them in meals...Guacamole sounds AMAZING!

Baby's now the size of an avocado!

Watch what you say...tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

Your Pregnancy: Week 16

Thanks to increasing blood flow, it's time for some major cash and prizes. Enjoy quick-growing hair and nails, smooth and firm skin, and a healthy glow. One bit of bad news -- your eyes might be feeling a little dry these days.

Your Baby in Week 16 of Pregnancy
Your baby now weighs in at a whopping three to five ounces, and he's four to five inches in length. The bones that are now in place in his ears means he can probably hear your voice as you talk to your partner and pals and sing in the car. While he’s getting used to your voice, the tiny muscles in his body, especially the ones in his back, are gaining strength, so he can straighten out a little more. And thanks to his developing facial muscles, your baby is capable of making a few expressive frowns and squints, even at this early stage. (Don’t worry, those frowns have nothing to do with the sound of your voice!) And his eyes are finally working, making small side-to-side movements and perceiving light (although the eyelids are still sealed). Peekaboo!

UPDATE ON SOCKS:

Socks is about 75% back to normal. She's been on her strict chicken and rice only diet (that she LOVES!) and is taking 6 pills a day.

For a few days we slept downstairs in case she had any accidents...but it was quite the opposite...now she won't go! We're not sure if she's constipated because of all the medicine or she was just so empty that she's storing all the food cause she's eating plenty and has a huge appetite. She plays normal and is sweet as ever but we just have to get her back on a schedule! Oh, well....as long as she's not in any pain or blood coming out it's all good.

She's a little confused and sad as to why we started locking her up when we go to work...but until she goes back on a bathroom schedule she can't roam around the house by herself!

Can you believe this little girl is going to be 2 next month?!? Time goes by so fast! Hope she feels better by then so we can party it up!

The time Socks went to the Hospital

On Friday we went to Socks' favorite place...the Spectrum. We're not sure why but she has a BLAST every time we go there (I think she secretly loves all the attention she gets from people telling her how cute she is!)

She even saw her good old friend again when I first took her to the Spectrum...she was only about 12 weeks old!

On Saturday we went to a prayer/viewing for my Aunt's mom in Long Beach. It was a sad gathering but a lot of people were in good spirits and it was great to see some family and friends we haven't seen in awhile.

Everyone's been trying to guess if Baby is a boy or girl now that I have a little Baby Bump going on. All the Old Wives Tale were being thrown at me: from how the shape of the belly is to how my face has changed. 

I found this site and thought it was pretty funny and interesting....

51 Old Wives Pregnancy Tales

Here are some of my faves:

Old Wives Tale #3:  Cravings Curse
This old wives tale is fun to hang over Tarzan’s head.  Basically if anyone denies a pregnant woman whatever she is craving, they will get a sty in his/her eye.  Personally, I think all men should read this and always give into whatever us pregnant women want!  For their own benefit, of course.

Old Wives Tale #13:  Ring Test
Using a string, hang your wedding ring over your pregnant belly.  You are having a girl if the ring swings back and forth  and it’s a boy if it swings in a circle.

Old Wives Tale #31:  Mom’s Beauty
Basically you are having a girl if your beauty disappears during pregnancy.  It is said that the girl “steals” the mother’s beauty.  If you think that pregnancy has never made you look more beautiful, you might just be having a little boy.  

Old Wives Tale #35:  Side You Most Rest On
If a pregnant woman prefers to lay on her left side, she’s having a boy.  If she prefers resting on her right side, she’s having a girl.  I prefer my right side lately.  Hmm.

Old Wives Tale #41:  Morning Sickness
If you had a smooth pregnancy with no morning sickness, it’s a boy.  If you were sick or felt really nauseous during your pregnancy, count on a girl. 

We also went house hunting this weekend with my parents. We started at 10 in the morning and didn't end til 3 in the afternoon!!! We saw everything from houses that looked like a jungle to houses that could've been our dream house! We drove with the realtor and thought we were all going to die from the way he was driving! We still haven't found the perfect house...so until then we'll keep on looking (but I think we'll drive separatly from the realtor next time!)

Unfortunately, Socks has not been feeling well. Around 2:30 in the morning on Monday I heard a weird sound and then heard her run under the bed. I knew something was wrong cause she loves sleeping in between us. I turned on the light and right in the middle of our room was Socks' #2 on the runs...I quickly woke Neal up cause my gagging reflex quickly kicked in. I sat in the living room watching from a distance trying to help (throwing paper towels and plastic bags from a good distance). At this time she was still under the bed and we couldn't get her out. Neal lifted the mattress to try to pull her out only to find that she made 2 more messes!!! I was quickly put on duty to give her a bath. A BATH! at 3 in the morning!!! I couldn't complain cause it was the least I can do since Neal was in the room cleaning it up like a CSI crime scene. She looked so sick we couldn't even be mad at her that she had an accident. Finally after an hour of interruption into our beauty sleep we all went back to sleep. But when Neal took her out that morning she still wasn't feeling well so we locked her up downstairs the rest of the day while we were at work.

Neal came home early and I quickly got a call to call Socks into the Vet. Hospital. It was a good thing we locked her up cause she had an accident about 4 times and was vomitting. I quickly left work and picked them up and off we went to the hospital.

By the time I picked them up...Neal said she had to go again only this time it was all blood. I felt like crying!!! I wish I could take the pain away from her. It was a little stressful cause we were going to a new doctor's office cause her old one is all the way in Newport Beach. But thankfully, the one down the street from our house let us come in. The doctor checked her out and I felt so bad cause she kept looking up at me and Neal like "HELP ME! There's a strange lady touching me!" The doctor said she probably ate something bad at my parents' backyard and it's some kind of bacteria. We brought in a sample of her stool to show her the blood and she said if it continues then we have to bring her back in for more tests. Socks was given 3 medications...one to treat the bacteria, another to coat and rebuild her stomach and the last to relieve her from pain. POOOOOOR SOCKSY! And since she's had diahrrea and vomitting for almost 24 hours she was sooooo dehydrated.

They did a Subcutaneous Fluid procedure where they stuck a needle in her back underneath her skin. When they gave her back to us we were soooo excited to see her but I was quickly taken in shock cause they didnt warn us that she would look like a hunched-back dog! It was the oddest thing! She had a huge lump probably the size of Neal's hand and when you touched it it was freezing! Immediately though we noticed that she was in good spirits. The rest of the night we rubbed her back so the fluids would get absorbed and even out.

After an hour it started to move down...she looks like she has one boob!

I love the look in her eyes here: "Mom, stop touching my boob"

It finally started to get smaller!

We knew she felt a lot better cause she was looking for food. We made her boiled chicken and white rice (that'll have to be her diet for the next week or so...but I don't think she's complaining!). We all had a sleepover in our downstairs bedroom in case she had another accident...we'd rather clean up the wood floors than our carpet! It was a pretty rough night for me cause I kept waking up to check on her to see if 1. she was still breathing and comfortable and 2. that she wasn't having another accident! And every time I checked...she was KNOCKED out peacefully in between us. Hopefully we only had a 24 hour scare. But for now she will have to be on a strict diet and medication.

 In all of this commotion...sitting in the waiting room I suddenly realized how hard parenting will be. As silly as it sounds, I was truly heartbroken knowing that Socks wasn't feeling well. So sad that I left work and made a frantic phone call to the vet that we had an EMERGENCY. Neal laughed (as did the nurse) when I said "I HAVE AN EMERGENCY YOU HAVE TO SEE OUR DOG NOW!"...Neal said "It's not like her head was hanging off her body!" But as we sat there waiting for Socks...I was reassured that no matter how hard it will be to raise our child (or dog) and see them go through pain we will always have each other for support and reasoning. My voice of reason, Neal, reiterated that these are the things that come in life and everything will be okay as long as we are dedicated to each other and our kids. Still it scares me a little that I can feel this way about our dog...what more with our child? Like how can you protect them from getting hurt...or feeling guilty that maybe you didn't watch them closely enough.

I guess it is true that they say motherhood and parenting is the hardest job you'll ever have...I wish Socks will be a puppy forever and Baby can stay in my tummy forever.

I guess all this fear is normal...if we weren't scared we wouldn't be good parents right? I think the hardest part will be learning to balance being protective and not being too overprotective. All I know is that Socks and this Baby will be the luckiest! We love both of them so much and their grandparents are equally crazy about them too!!!