Back at it!

Well here I am almost 2 years since my last post! Obviously I have a lot less time now that I have Charlie and he is keeping us both very busy! I have decided that I need to make it a priority to blog again so that we can look back and remember all these fun times we have been having. Charlie has been a bigger blessing to our family than I ever could have imagined! He is a sweet, happy, hilarious and persistent child! Our love for him is more than we ever know was possible.

Here is a run down of our lives since I last posted....

After 29 hours of labor I had to go in for a C Section on May 25, 2011 at 8:36. He came into this world weighing 8lbs 8oz.

And so our journey truly begun!

 

 

Jess had a schedule when Charlie was born of just soccer, so he was able to be home with him during his first 6 months. I was jealous of course but so happy that Charlie and Jess got to spend that precious time together. Sadly we lost Rooney during Charlie's first year to a ruptured disk in his back and we were heart broken. We are still not ready to replace him and I get teary eyed just typing this sentence out.

 

 

In December of 2011 Jess's opportunity of getting his first 7-Eleven finally happened so Charlie had to go to daycare and Jess started working like a mad man opening the store and coaching soccer.

 

 

Charlie turned 1 and we celebrated with friends and family while camping at Lake Skinner on Memorial Weekend. He was awesome during his party and even danced while we sang him Happy Birthday!

 

 

After Charlie turned one we were really kept on our toes. He started walking, then running, getting into everything and now learning new words everyday!

 

 

 

So that was a quick run down of our journey since Charlie has joined our family. We continue to be blessed and look forward to the journey ahead of us. My goal is to update our blog as important moments in our lives happen so that we can look back and appreciate these times since life continues on and time slows down for no one!



 

 





We are almost there!!!

I can't believe I am so close to meeting my son!!! Today I am 34 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Only 38 days until my Due date!!! I'm hoping he decides to come out a little sooner than that! I am so excited to start the journey of motherhood!!!

This month I had a two baby showers which where everything and more than I could have imagined! My mother-in -law did such a good job with the Mad Hatter themed baby shower that she threw for me. Here are some pictures!

 The very next weekend my sister threw me a turtle themed shower that matched Charlie's nursery that was just as great! Here are some picture from that shower!

I really am so blessed to have so many great people around me. A lot of work went into both showers and I am so thankful for the great time I had seeing everyone and all the great gifts that I received. I pretty much got everything that I needed in order to be ready for Charlie to arrive. Anything that I didn't get I was able to get with gift cards.That was one fun shopping trip! =)

So after both showers were done and everything purchase I was able to finish up Charlie's nursery. It turned out so great! Here are some pictures of the finished product!

As far as Charlie goes, everything is going good. I have a feeling that he is getting to be a big boy. My stomach is constantly moving which I love. I think that is something that I will miss the most about being pregnant, all the kicks that are just for me! The doctor says that he is head down which makes me a very happy mommy! 

 Here is what my email update has to say:

See the bigger picture.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Getting so excited!!!

I am at 31 weeks and getting more and more excited for Charlie to join our family. We have all the furniture in the nursery and I love just sitting in my glider while I day dream about being a mommy!

We went and had a 3D ultrasound done and it was absolutely amazing! I cried and it made me even more excited to meet him. Some people said that the looks like me and some said Jess but I just think he looked amazing and cute as can be.

This past weekend my sister and I spent the afternoon taking maternity photos. My sister did such a good job and I'm so happy that I decided to do them. The pictures are something that I think I will cherish forever!

This is what my weekly updates has to say about week 31:

See the bigger picture.

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy

The End of the 2nd Trimester!

Here I am at 26 weeks. This weekend I will officially be into the 3rd Trimester! I am defiantly getting bigger and so is Charlie. I am feeling him kick and punch a lot harder now and sometimes I can even watch my stomach jump around. The nursery is coming together but Jess told me I have to stop until after my baby showers =(  I still am very impatient to get it all done! I'm still feeling pretty good. It's getting a little bit harder to get comfortable but I'm hanging in there. I failed my 1 hour Glucose test so now I have to spend 4 hours at the doctors taking the longer glucose test later on this week which pretty much sucks. I've noticed that this past week my emotions are a little wacky. I'm not some angry crazy chick I just cry at nothing. I've even gone from laughing to crying. Its all very weird. I just looked at Jess this week during one of my crying fits and asked him "Whats wrong with me?" lol He has been great and he just smiles at me or hugs me when I need it.

 

Here are the Letters above Charlie's crib that Jess painted. I loved how they turned out.

And Here is the Cradle that my grandpa made for Charlie and dropped off at my work. It came out so beautiful! It really is so special to me that he took the time to make me something so wonderful!

Here is what my weekly update has to say about Charlie:

See the bigger picture.

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Things are moving fast now!

I am 22 weeks and everything is happening so fast! My baby showers are being planned, which is just the most exciting thing ever! I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life that are willing to take the time to celebrate this special time with me. I have been feeling baby Charlie now for a few weeks but last night was the first time I felt him from the outside. I tried to get Jess to feel him but every time he would try to feel the kicks Charlie would stop. It will happen. I just can't wait for my stomach to look like an alien is trying to get out of it! =) Right now I am going crazy wanting to have the nursery done. So far we have the Crib together and tonight I went and bought the changing table. Jess is buying the paint so that he can paint the wooden letters that he bought today that will go above the crib. It all is just so much fun! I am truly so happy right now. As far as how I feel, I feel wonderful! Some days my feet kill me at the end of the day but that's nothing. I am just enjoying this wonderful 2nd trimester. I know that the 1st trimester was hard and I'm sure the 3rd will be a lot more uncomfortable. I find myself daydreaming a lot about what Charlie will be like and what he will look like.

                                                            22 WEEKS
Here is what my weekly updates say about whats going on :

See the bigger picture.

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The end of a wonderful year!

Well as 2010 comes to an end I can't help but think back on what a year it has been!

Jess and I were married this year. On January 16th  it will be our one year anniversary, I am 5 months pregnant  (baby Charlie is the size of a Mango right now) and we moved to a bigger place to make room for baby! What a year is all I can say! We have been so blessed with the great family that surrounds us and all the blessings that we have. There were lots of fun camping and River trips with friends and family this year. I can't wait to have Charlie start camping with us! Also this year my relationship with God has grown to be something that I never would have imagined it could be. Jess was promoted to the technical directed for FC Man United soccer club which has been an exciting thing for him. He definitely has a vision for where he sees the club going.

This Christmas was so much fun with all the small kids around this year. My sister's two, Carson and Cassie, are at such a fun age right now and really embraced everything Christmas had to offer. Jess's sisters, Jenny and Jill, have 2 little ones, Jack and Marseille, that are the same age of around 1 1/2 and really just too fun to be around. Such little personalities. Jenny just had another little girl, Amelie, who I enjoyed some great one on one time on Christmas morning. Here are some pics from our holidays fun! 

Christmas 2010 - Free Slideshow Maker

As far as baby Charlie goes here is what is going on with him at 20 weeks:
Baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure,  measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

We are having a.......

BOY!!!!! We were so excited! It seemed like it took forever for the lady to tell us. I cried and Jess had the biggest smile I think I have ever seen! Here is a picture of the goods. Its kind of blurry because I'm taking a picture of a picture but you can see it =)

Here is a profile picture of our little Charles Russell Sandoval . I just love that name I can already hear myself yelling "Charlie don't ride on Rooney!" lol

And here is me at 14 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am feeling great and now even more excited and connected with this baby because I can actually picture him!