Surprise Baby Shower from Our East Coast Family - GO GATORS!!!!

Oh my goodness! Joel and I are at the Orlando airport heading back home to SD after an incredible weekend with the family. We came out to celebrate Dad's 65th Birthday and to spend some time with everyone before Tristan comes into the world. We were greeted on Thursday evening with big hugs and enjoyed a midnight swim underneath the stars and full moon with wine (water for me) and cheese...a beautiful rocking chair decorated with a pillow hand-made by Grandma that included a monogram "T", blankie and teddy bear were waiting for us in our room to bring home for Tristan...on Friday we celebrated Dad's birthday with a wonderful surprise. We gifted him with a Florida Wysteria plant for their backyard, and we all worked together to create a concrete stepping stone using cookie cutters that represented each of us. Joel - snowflake, Me - Butterfly, Tristan - Baby Foot, Mom - Heart, Jill - Mermaid, Stewart - Fire Truck, Joseph - Monkey and Dad - Rocket. The weather has been perfect! We enjoyed the day catching up with Joseph who is now 19 months and playing about 5 or 6 games of Scrabble!

On Saturday we woke up thinking that we were heading to Mt. Dora for a Gator rally. We were given Gator shirts to wear for full orange and blue spirit! We drove to SIL's house to meet up and it was there that Joel and I were surprised to learn that it was all a set up! They were having a BABY SHOWER for us! Oh my goodness! We were greeted with leis and the house was fully decorated with Orange and Blue pride, balloons, streamers, decorations, and everyone was decked out in Gator gear. And, Best Man Doug made it out to celebrate the occasion! We were truly surprised!!!!!

We had a wonderful BBQ lunch, super fun games (including who could put the diaper on the bunny fastest - I won!, Gator trivia, and how many gators were in the swamp). SIL Jill is the most creative person I've ever met. I told her she could teach Martha Stewart a few tricks!

The fireplace was full of incredibly thoughtful gifts. Every package was detailed with a theme, a thought, a phrase or a special something...Joel's favorite was a shirt for Tristan that read "my dad's team can beat your dad's team!"! Tristan picked up a few of Daddy's childhood dolls, clothes and toys, too. I'm so amazed that East Coast Mom has kept all his goodies over the past 36 years - and in such great condition!!!!

We had a delicious and adorable Baby Gator Prince cake - it was a perfectly delightful day and were totally overwhelmed!!! The boys ended the evening drinking 'special occasion' aged whiskey from Stewart. Boy was this a special occasion!

We went back to Titusville and East Coast Mom brought out a tub full of baby memories and goodies for Joel to go through. We found his baptism outfit which Tristan will likely wear at his baptism and many other goodies like his baby teeth, letters to santa and the easter bunny (my favorite! - he once asked Santa for parachute pants! LOL!) What a memorable occasion...

The next time we see our East Coast Family - there will be another addition!!!

Thank you East Coast family for an amazing weekend to celebrate Tristan! We love you!!!

29 weeks

Hi! So it's amazing how quickly this baby bump of mine is getting bigger, and bigger and bigger!!!! It seems like Baby T bump has doubled in size in just the past two weeks! Ignore the bummy look in these pix and just note the bump :) hehe

I can't believe how far we've come. Sigrid gifted me with a pregnancy journal that I started to work on over the weekend and I was asked to reminisce about all that's happened thus far in my journey towards motherhood. I'm amazed at the progress and all that's taken place in our lives since January.

I'm in the middle of packing for our trip to Florida - we leave in the morning to visit our east coast family. We're thrilled! This will also be my last trip before Tristan is born.

I'm happy that we've confirmed our Maui vacation in February. It will be the perfect time to celebrate our new addition!

I couldn't resist buying this adorable pumpkin onesie for my little munchkin since he should be with us to celebrate the Halloween holiday this year!

The blanket in the photos was the first of a few to come crocheted by my mom for Tristan - isn't it beautiful!?!!!

27 Weeks

It's official! We've moved to East County! We've been here for just about a week and are finally feeling settled in. We are so happy with our decision to move as it will be the perfect home to start our family. We are thrilled about the space, Tristan having his own beautiful room, more room for Jasmine and Dollie to run around, a backyard and room for baby toys and playtime!! And, we are much closer to my family which will be very important as our days get nearer (and we get to enjoy the pool in this super hot summer!) We're also enjoying the peace and quiet, hearing real birds chirping in the morning, super nice neighbors...so far so good! Here are some belly pix from the top of the roof at our condo when we said our good-byes to the city!

Tristan weighs over 2 lbs now and is a mover and a shaker! He's already lighting up my world with every movement. He is all over the place! I can't wait to see him in just a few months!

We just registered at the hospital and signed up for the many classes ahead! In the coming months, we'll be taking "Preparing your mind and body", "Bringing Baby Home" and "Breastfeeding" classes. I can't wait to experience all of this with Joel! They'll start after we return from our visit to Florida to see our east coast family!

24 Weeks!

We had our 24 week doctor visit yesterday and boy was it quick! Everything with Tristan is moving right along - couldn't ask for anything more! We heard his healthy heartbeat of 140 beats per minute. All tests so far have turned out extremely positive. It's now time to register at the hospital - woohoo! We'll be delivering Tristan at Mercy hospital in Hillcrest. No negative comments on my weight gain this time (whew!) but I still am very excited about moving to a home with a big kitchen so that I can start cooking some healthy meals! Living downtown always encourages the easy way of dining out - which isn't the best diet for me or Baby T! We found a new home close to Nana and Tata and will be moving next weekend! We are sooo excited to get Tristan's room ready for him!

I've been learning all the in's and out's of baby and mommy necessities. Thankfully I have a lot of support from friends and family who have recently gone through this or are going through it now where we can share stories, symptoms, gear, toys, books, do's and don't's. It's such a fun ride!

Tristan is moving SOOOOO much these days. Daddy got to feel him kick about 10 times in a row the other night. Brent was able to feel him last night at family dinner, too. It truly is amazing!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Dearest Tristan, 

Today was a dramatically sad, sad day! The world's greatest artistic inspiration, Michael Jackson, passed away at the age of 50. I'm saddened that you will never know the magic that he brought to this world! I can't wait for you to come into my arms. I know there will be an even greater sparkling magic I've never known before when I finally get to see you and hold you! I feel you kicking and moving so comfortably inside of me and it makes me smile every time! Daddy has felt you a number of times and his eyes light up with joy. You make us so proud already! We found a home to settle into before you arrive. I am so anxious to get your room ready for you!!!

Keep on kickin' baby...we love you!

23 Weeks

Time really is just flying on by! Joel and I had so much fun going "out" and seeing the friends for the first time in months (what seems like ages!). It was even fun just getting ready! Tristan got lots of love from warm hands this evening as many saw "the belly" for the first time!

We're getting closer to finding a new home to start our family. We are most anxious to be able to set up Tristan's room with the beautiful furniture that Mom and Dad Lackovich gifted us with. Tristan's crib bedding is being made and things are moving right along!

He has been moving sooooo much - I almost wonder if he DOES want to be a dancer? He seems to be up most when I'm watching "So You Think You Can Dance"! Irony? Joel refuses to find any correlation between the two. LOL

Mommy is feeling SO much better these days. We all just couldn't be happier and are enjoying every second of this amazing time!

5 1/2 Months Belly Bump - June 13