Baby Entry #3

How far along: 30 weeks

Total weight gain: 25 pounds

Maternity clothes: I purchased some stretchy yoga pants a couple weeks ago and they have been heaven for me. Pretty sure those are the pants I want to be wearing when I'm in labor.

Stretch marks: Yes, a couple small ones on my left hip and they look like lightning bolts (at least they look cool). 

Sleeping schedule: For the past couple months, my body is now used to getting up and using the bathroom once a night, it's quite robotic and sometimes I don't even open my eyes. In addition, I stopped drinking water by 9pm and it seems to help reduce the number of times I have to use the restroom. 

Best moment of this week:  Everyday I go in her (almost ready) room and I just sit there and imagine myself with Emma in my arms, then I hold my belly and talk to her about all the ideas I have planned to do as a family together and how excited everyone is to meet her. 

Miss anything: Wine and a nice cold one when its 110 degrees outside :(

Movement: Emma (that's her name by the way... Emma Sofia) moves SO much and she's not graceful about it either. She is so active all the time.

Food cravings: Nope.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Have you started to show yet: Most definitely. She's got 10 more weeks to go! 

Gender/Name: If you don't already know, we're having a girl and her name is Emma Sofia Morris. Kevin and I had our girl name picked out for years now and yes... we got the first name idea from one of our favorite shows Friends and the middle name has been passed down for generations on my side of the family (I'm a Sofia myself) and we decided to keep the tradition alive. 

Labor signs: Not yet, at least I don't think so.

Belly button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On, but it is starting to get a little tight :(

Happy or moody: I'm all over the place. I definitely noticed that I am a lot more sensitive as of recently. I'm crying more, laughing more, and getting mad quicker. These hormones are just too much sometimes, but my joy, anxiety, and happiness of being a mother and awaiting her arrival is always there. 

Looking forward to: these last 10 weeks with Emma in the womb. I have so much to look forward to such as: baby showers, birth classes, a maternity photography session, a mini trip scheduled for my husband and I before baby's arrival, and of course the day she's finally here. I'm terrified of child birth, but I'm starting to feel more and more pumped every week because I just want to see my daughter, hold her, and smother her with kisses. 

I quickly want to say how fortunate Kevin and I are to have the support system we have. So many have been calling us, visiting us, texting us and have been so supportive and caring throughout my pregnancy. Our loved ones can't express to us enough on how excited they are for Emma to be here, especially the soon-to-be grandpa's. My dad can't get enough of my belly and my father-in-law lights up every time he visits. They and everyone else who has expressed their excitement with us are counting the days or I mean seconds for October 4th. Thank you for that, thank you for being as excited as we are. This is by far our greatest happiness and our greatest adventure and experiencing it with our loved ones only made this journey 100 times better. We love you. Emma is such a lucky little girl to have all of you. 

I plan to post one more entry before she gets here, but we'll see how it goes. I'm off to bed and Emma decided to have a dance party just now, I guess I won't be finding a comfortable sleeping position for hours...oh joy.

Here is a current picture of me at 29 weeks. 

Spread kindness and rest well, world. 

With love,

Ale

Baby Entry #2

How far along: 22 weeks.

Total weight gain: 16 pounds.

Maternity clothes: I purchased some pants and capris from Old Navy and a girlfriend of mine is letting me borrow most of her maternity jeans and a couple of tops. I'm currently looking for some maternity dresses, but I haven't found any that I really like yet. 

Stretch marks: Nope, but I have purchased the lotion that was recommended to me by my doctor. Prevention is key and I hope it works! 

Sleep: My sleeping schedule has improved. I still have to wake up once a night to empty my bladder. Another thing I've noticed is that I am getting much hotter much quicker. Poor Kevin, I have to push him to his side whenever he tries to hold me at night. It's only temporary, mi amor! Also, Kevin bought me one of those pregnancy pillows and they are heaven!

Best moment of this week:  This morning, Kevin and I had our monthly OB appointment with our Doctor. The doctor was checking the baby's heartbeat by putting a little bit of pressure right on my belly and baby girl punched my stomach right where the baby monitor was! I love how she's already developing her personality right in the womb. 

Miss anything: Coffee, Mountain Dew, and wine.

Movement: Nothing yet.

Food cravings: Nope, nada. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Whenever I take out the trash. I instantly get super nauseous.

Have you started to show yet: I am definitely starting to show. Baby girl is growing healthy and strong.

Gender: "I honestly don't know. At first, I was boy 100%, but now I'm starting to think maybe girl." This is what I said on my last post and the vibes I got were right! We're having a baby girl!!!

Labor signs: Nope.

Belly button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On

Happy or moody: My road rage has become worse. My patience for idiots on the road is slim, but other than that, I'm so incredibly happy. I am counting the days where we have our baby girl in our arms. 

Looking forward to: My summer vacation has started and Kevin and I can finally work on the baby's room!

I am loving every moment of my pregnancy with Baby Girl Morris. On the next post, we will be sharing her name! Until then, be safe and spread kindness.

With love,

Ale

Baby Morris Entry #1

Hi Everyone, 

I have some incredible news to share with you. My husband and I are expecting our first child! We are nervous, excited, blessed, scared, happy. As you can already notice, we are feeling tons of emotions, but happiness is the one we're feeling by far. God is good. I've decided to complete questionnaires such as the one below every now and then throughout the course of my pregnancy just for the fun of it. 

How far along: 15 weeks

Total weight gain: About 6-7 pounds

Maternity clothes: I already bought pants and jeans from the maternity section at Old Navy (online selection is much better compared to the store).

Stretch marks: Nope. That reminds me...I need to purchase some lotion to prepare for them. I know they're coming...

Sleep: About 3 weeks ago, I would have crazy dreams/nightmares every night and then I would stay awake from the anxiety afterwards. Thank goodness that went away, but I get up at least once every night to empty my bladder. 

Best moment of this week: Kevin and I read weekly updates from The Bump and this week we learned that the baby is starting to hear us. Kevin started talking to our baby and said, "Hi Baby, don't drive your Mama crazy." I love seeing this side of my husband. 

Miss anything: Strong coffee.

Movement: Nothing yet.

Food cravings: Sour gummy worms 

Anything making you queasy or sick: the trash

Have you started to show yet: I just feel lumpy right now and I feel and look like I'm bloated most of the time. At least, I don't think I'm showing a pregnant belly yet. 

Gender: I honestly don't know. At first, I was boy 100%, but now I'm starting to think maybe girl. 

Labor signs: No where near that.

Belly button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On

Happy or moody most of the time: So incredibly happy. I find myself smiling at the thought of our baby (I can be anywhere, last time I caught myself I was at Save Mart) and how he/she will look like. I hope he/she has their daddy's eyes.

Looking forward to: Having some quality time with family this weekend. My parents and siblings are so excited for their grandchild/niece/nephew. We're already thinking about baby shower ideas and games. 

I've wanted this for so long, I cannot wait to have you in my arms, Baby of mine.

Goodnight world.

With love,

Ale

Rest in Peace, my Bambi boy

I was 12 years old with $50 in my hands walking towards an apartment in downtown Merced. Prior to this visit, my mom and I found a newspaper ad saying the following, 'Cocker Spaniel Puppies for Sale!' and I saved up all the money I had and prayed on the drive there that the owner accepts my offer. I knock on the door and this lady who was probably 30, but looked like she was 50 opened the door and I remember her apartment being so smoky inside. I stayed outside because well...stranger danger. I asked her, "are you selling Cocker Spaniel puppies? I only have $50, will this do?" She looked me and then she grabbed the money off of my hands, handed me a puppy (roughly, my poor Bambi), and slammed the door. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I didn't even care that she didn't let me pick. I just knew from the start that he was the one. On the car ride home, my family and I are shouting random names and I believe it was my sister or maybe brother that said 'Bambi' and it stuck. Of course, my poor Bambi was always called a 'her' for his entire life. I wonder what his thoughts were when his name was chosen for him, I'm surprised he didn't hate me for it. Since that day, our journey together has been full of love and laughter. His ears were so floppy that he would have trouble eating as a pup because he would accidently start chewing on one of his ears, but I was always there to help until the very end. He was my shadow, always beside me. Our other furbabies have learned from him and they do the same. They also learned from him to scare cats, with the exception of Dexter. Bambi loved Dexter, probably the only cat that was worthy of his affection (his thought not mine, I'm sure of it). They learned to beg for food, unfortunately and they learned what it meant to be loyal and caring. I'm so happy that I still have Lucky and Koopa because it feels like I still have Bambi with me. He was incredible and I'm going to miss him so much. I'm going to miss those ears and my shadow. Knowing that he is in doggy heaven, most likely with Sugar (my first furbaby) and back in full health with his tennis ball in his mouth makes my heart feel full. I hope he left this world knowing how much he was loved and how great of a companion he will always be. I love you Bambi. I'll see you at the Rainbow Bridge. 

With love,

Ale

Shucks

There goes another month and I just started thinking today "it's been a while since I posted something on my blog", I really have to be a little more consistent about this. I'll add it to my list. 

February and March are flying by, just like January. Dude, year 2016, slow down just a little. A couple of important events since my last post...

Little sister aka bigger sister in height turned sweet 16 on February 13th. We had her pick where she wanted to spend the day and she chose San Francisco. Beautiful day to have visited. We went to the Japanese Gardens for the first time and it was lovely. Next time, I want to rent a bike and just take a bike ride around that whole park. Of course, she connected to her roots and wanted Peruvian food for lunch and in the Bay, you have choices to choose from for Peruvian restaurants. It was delicious. Two more years until my little one is legal. Time, slow down. Please. 

Another important event, my BambiBoy turned 15 years old, he made it to another year and let me tell you, he inhaled his birthday ice cream he had on his birthday. His health recently has been a rollarcoaster. He has his good days and then he has his bad days where I'm crying myself to sleep because I fear he won't wake up the next day. I am grateful to God though because I believe He is giving me this extra time to accept that he will be leaving us soon. How many devoted pet owners really get the chance to do this, to say goodbye? My first dog/companion Sugar, a dog who was with me for over 10 years, left me so unexpectedly, and how I wish I had a little more time to spend with her and mentally prepare myself for her departure from this Earth and that is exactly what I am doing with Bambi. I pray he goes in peace when he's ready and for God to continue to give me strength and be able to let go.

I don't mean to end on a sad note, but it helps me. It's a form of therapy for me. I'd love to hear your story and what made your bond so special with your dog/cat. They really are more than just a pet, they are a part of you. There's not a whole lot of people who truly understand that, but I do. 

Before I say good night, here are a couple of pictures of the Birthday Girl and Boy on their birthdays. 

Sweet dreams.

With love,

Ale

Slow down, year!

January went flying. I need 2016 to calm down.

Let me update ya on a couple things...one thing I'm doing differently this year is not bringing work home with me. I tried doing that last year, but I failed. This year, so far, I've been doing good and I feel less stressed and well rested going to work the next day. Kevin and I have been cooking more home made meals, it's been lighter on our wallets, healthier for our bodies, and we treat it as a date. We're both pretty good cooks.

Another update: our fur babies are doing all right. My oldest is going through some health complications, but then again, he is 14 years old. I'm just making sure that he has the best quality of life. I love my old man, and I pray God will take him when it's time, I hope it's peaceful. 

We celebrate my little sisters 16 birthday this coming up weekend. She's growing up to be such a young lady. I'm so proud of her accomplishments with school and I love hearing her talk about her future plans, she's so ambitious. These next two years have to slow down. I plan on spending as much time with her as I can before she goes off to college. Is it me or does life feel like it's on high speed when you're an adult. I don't remember feeling this way when I was in middle school or even high school. 

Well that's what's going on with me. I hope 2016 started well for all of you. I'll try not to wait a month to post again.

Good night world. 

With love,

Ale

2015.

Blessed. What a year it has been. Thank you God for the health that you provided to our families and to us, thank you for the job opportunities, thank you for the roof over our heads, and for the love that we feel within both our families. 

2015, you were truly full of blessings and adventures. Kevin and I are ready to take on 2016 hand in hand, all the while thinking of those whom we love in mind. 

The pictures shown above are my favorite memories of 2015; the joy in my life that keep me going even during my hardest days. I love you all and Happy New Year!

With love, Alessandra