Week 18

Since I didn't have my chalkboard this past week, this week's bump pic is a little different. Being at the beach, A thought it would be perfect to take the pic there. As you can see, I couldn't choose just one pic and with so many great photographers in the family, there were too many good ones to choose from so here are two!

^^My pick

 ^^A's pick

How far along? 18 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Probably up about 3.5 kg, but haven't weighed myself this week
Maternity clothes? Same mix as 16 weeks, throwing in some maternity jeans as well for comfort
Stretch marks? None. I've been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and also Kiehl's Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter 1-2 times a day.
Sleep: Mainly sleeping through the night
Best moment this week: Feeling stronger flutters, not quite kicks especially when driving on bumpy roads.
Miss Anything? Eating eggs over easy and ham
Movement: Not strong kicks, but definitely feeling something
Food cravings: Chocolate covered pretzels
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not baby related, but I got sick during the fishing trip we took
Have you started to show yet? Mmmhmm
Gender prediction: Only a couple more weeks until the next ultrasound so trying to convince A still!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Feeling some stronger kicks!

And for an extra little something, check out this "making of" video sis-in-law made!
My favorite part is seeing A in the background "scurrying" with a handful of rocks to write 18 weeks. 

Christmas Vacation in Lanzarote

Hello from the Canary Islands! We've been here for the past week with A's family enjoying the sun, relaxing and eating lots. Christmas was spent with a day at the beach and having seafood for dinner. We'll be here for New Year's and a few days afterwards then it's back to Modena. Here are a few pics of what we have been up to:

 ^^Comfy lounge chairs with our own pool. We're staying at a villa with all of the amenities rather than a hotel this vacation. 

 ^^Very spacious outdoor area with a built-in barbecue just down the steps.

 ^^One of the four bedrooms in the villa, two with ensuite bathrooms plus there are 1.5 more bathrooms.

 ^^A fully stocked kitchen with everything you need to cook. 

 ^^One of the beaches at El Golfo. 

 ^^Ready to surf at Famara beach.

 ^^While I chose to hang back and read the sequel to the Devil Wears Prada. 

 ^^Famara beach on Christmas Day

 ^^Delish potatoes and mushrooms

 ^^We visited Timanfaya National Park to see the remnants of the volcanic activity from the 18th century. Here is the chicken cooking from the heat of the volcano. 

 ^^Next was a morning of fishing. A and I obviously made use of our Sperrys. 

 ^^It was a perfectly sunny day, but after a little while on the boat, the seasickness got the best of me though I felt much better afterwards. We caught two fish during the trip but the best part was seeing over at least 20 dolphins (and baby ones!) swimming alongside our boat. 

^^Today's lunch of Arroz Caldoso ("brothy rice") with seafood. 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! 

If we have a girl...

I might just have to have her wear this outfit. She'll be such a mini-me :) 

source

Week 16

How far along? 16 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up 2.5 kg
Maternity clothes? Mainly wearing my regular clothes, adding in maternity tank tops and leggings
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Pretty good this week
Best moment this week: Hearing the little baby's heart beating
Have you told family and friends: Yes, they all know!
Miss Anything? Being able to button up my skinny jeans
Movement: Possibly, but I'm not totally sure
Food cravings: an American pepperoni pizza, Italian salame piccante is just not the same! (also, I ate a cheeseburger for breakfast the other day, oops)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week
Have you started to show yet? I'm still in that awkward pregnant or ate a little too much phase depending on the clothes I wear, but it's growing more and more each day
Gender prediction: I'm still thinking a girl :) and I'm still trying to convince Andrea that we should find out!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mainly happy this week
Looking forward to: Vacationing in the Canary Islands for Christmas and escaping the cold.

Testing the Stokke Scoot

We put together our stroller this weekend and used our Ferrari teddy bear, "Gigi," as our test "baby." :) :) :) 

I also bought the Stokke Softbag in order to use the stroller from when the baby is a newborn, but there will be more on how I like the stroller when Baby Senso is actually here. I am so glad I decided to go with the Black Melange color rather than navy or brown too. For now, the stroller is stored away in the Stokke Pram Pack, but I cannot wait to take it for a spin!

Top 10 - Trip to the US

10 highlights from my trip to the US (excluding Thanksgiving which deserves its own post), mainly revolving around food:

*sorry pics are not the best since they are from my phone! 

^^A trip to Whole Foods 

^^Dim sum & chinese food with family. Plus beef chow fun craving finally satisfied.

^^Grilled cheese and tater tots in the city from here

^^Maternity clothes shopping complete with a belly pillow

^^Thai food with my oldest friend

^^Catching up with old friends over New Haven pizza

^^The best pancakes I've ever had from here

^^First baby purchases, particularly, these shoes to match mine and A's Sperrys! 

^^Spending time with sis

^^Celebrating with room

And then it was off to the airport directly after the wedding! It was a short trip, but I was so happy I decided to go for the week especially since this will probably be the last trip I take without a little one for a while.

Thanksgiving Recap

I was SO excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving in Connecticut this year. (The one downside was A wasn't able to come with me since he had to work.) It's been five years since I've been able to celebrate my favorite holiday in America and we had all of the classics on the menu which included:

Herb roasted turkey with gravy (17 pounds, dry-brined the day before with 3 tablespoons of salt)
Boneless ham with pineapple
Mom's sage & sausage stuffing
Classic mashed potatoes
Roasted butternut squash
Sweet potato casserole (first time I had it with marshamallows!)
Green bean casserole (the French's recipe, but we used fresh green beans and added fresh baby bella mushrooms)
Sauteed brussels sprouts
Buttered corn kernels
Cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray jellied is my childhood favorite)

We snacked on a few appetizers while we cooked which included:
Shrimp cocktail
Cheese with vegetable crackers
Clam dip (canned clams with softened cream cheese, sour cream, onion, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper - simple & so good!) with Cape Cod potato chips (another favorite)

For dessert there was a classic pumpkin pie plus a cranberry apple pie from Lyman's Orchards, which were of course served with whipped cream and ice cream.

I don't have any exact recipes since my sister and I kind of winged everything based on our past experiences and it all turned out great! I was definitely happy I bought a pair of maternity leggings the day before as they were super comfortable and stretched to fit my Thanksgiving dinner food baby :)

^^The 17 pound dry-brined turkey rubbed with butter and ready for the oven. A few leaves of sage and sprigs of rosemary and thyme were tucked underneath the skin too. On the bottom of the roasting pan are onions, celery, carrots and a few apples. 

^^Finished turkey with a few of the trimmings - brussels sprouts, ham, butternut squash, mashed potatoes and gravy.

^^Stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce

^^I love this picture of my sister's boyfriend John with their dog Ginger. I thought she was going to pounce on the turkey! She had her own special dog food meal of Turducken afterwards though so she didn't miss out on Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Week 14

How far along? 14 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up 2 kg (most of it probably due to Thanksgiving)
Maternity clothes? A few maternity tank tops and leggings which are sooo comfortable. I took advantage of the Black Friday sales and stocked up on a bunch of clothes from Target and Motherhood Maternity.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Sleeping through the night pretty much except getting up maybe once to pee
Best moment this week: Seeing family and friends in the US! Plus buying the stroller I've been eyeing and bringing it back to Italy with me on the plane with no problems.
Have you told family and friends: Yup, facebook official
Miss Anything? Sushi
Movement: Nothing yet
Food cravings: Still cheese, the cheeseburger and also bagel with cream cheese I had the other day tasted so much more amazing than usual for some reason
Anything making you queasy or sick: The fish section at the supermarket today
Have you started to show yet? I think there is actually more than a food bump starting to show
Gender prediction: I'm still thinking a girl :)
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mainly happy this week
Looking forward to: Reading books about baby's first year I picked up in the US plus decorating our Christmas tree, which A surprised me with when I got back from my trip