Hello! This has been such a great month! The time is flying by and I can hardly believe we are only about 6 weeks away from his due date! I am definitely not feeling prepared, so I am going to gladly welcome these 6 weeks haha. I hear from a lot of people that these are the weeks that you just wish it was over already... but I am definitely not there yet! Don't get me wrong, I am so very anxious to meet this little man, and see his sweet face, and play with his cute little hands and feet... but for right now I still love being pregnant, and I'm hoping he doesn't come too early... I am really hoping to get some more things done before that day, and the longer he stays in, the healthier he'll be anyway! :) We'll have to see if I'm feeling the same way in a few weeks haha. And now I think our little spanish rice is more of a burrito... a very large burrito! But he is definitely my little buddy and I love watching him move around, kick me, punch me... you get the picture. It seems like he's in the same place most of the time, right now... I can feel his bum at the top right of my tummy and his little legs (as far as I can tell) off to the left. He likes to push out really far, giving my tummy a lovely little pointy spot on my left side and a huge bulge on the top right. I can't wait to see those cute little feet that love to push my belly into weird shapes haha!

Here are my questions again: 

How Far Along: 33 Weeks and 5 days

Size Of Baby: about the size of a durian fruit (to be quite honest I have no idea what that is... haha) but he should be about 17.2 -18.7 in and 4.2-5.8 lbs ("the bump" again)

Maternity Clothes: got some more for Christmas from AJ, my mom and dad, and my friend Megan! 

Loving having clothes that are cute and comfy!

Stretch Marks: no new ones, keeping my fingers crossed.

Sleep:  I think I'm sleeping pretty good, but my congestion is making it hard for AJ to sleep :(  I have had it my whole pregnancy, but sometimes it is worse than others... and unfortunately it's worse right now... and yes I'm admitting that it makes me snore really bad! I feel so bad, cuz AJ doesn't sleep well when I'm not breathing great, or snoring loud... so his sleep has been compromised probably more than mine! And there is the usual wake up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom... and a couple times to adjust my hips... but nothing too bad yet.

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing his strong heartbeat! We had our doctors appointment on Friday so we were able to hear it again. It was at 144, very healthy :) 

Movement: I already kinda updated you on the movement aspect... but he's still a busy boy.  He gets the hiccups a lot and sometimes I think it makes him mad... Occasionally when he has them he starts moving around like crazy, so I think those are the ones that are super uncomfortable. Wish I could do something to help!

Cravings: Nothing too crazy... but I've really been loving the Kashi Blueberry Bran Flakes... not sure if that's even what they are called... but they are delicious! Thanks to my Mom and Kayla for introducing them to me! 

Gender: BOY!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Belly Button In or Out: Usually out most of the time... but it's still kinda dependent on his position. I think it is funny!

Wedding Ring on or off: Still wearing my fake one, my hands are pretty swollen most of the time.

What I Miss: I am mostly just looking forward to being able to sleep on my back again, but this little guys is worth it!

What I am Looking Forward to: Hopefully getting the nursery finished and all put together! And pregnancy wise... I just can't wait to meet him! It's coming so fast!

Symptoms: I really haven't been too nauseated lately, yay! But the tiredness has definitely come back. I took three naps last Sunday, and I'm hoping to get one in today too! I've also had super swollen hands and feet, and I learned at my doctor's appointment that I've been having braxton hicks quite a bit! I couldn't always tell what they were, but she was able to confirm it, so far they aren't painful though.

Nursery: Not much has changed since my last post unfortunately... work and life has just been crazy... so neither of us has had enough time to really get anything moving for the nursery... hence the reason I'm not feeling prepared yet! But it will get there one day

Emotions: Seeming slightly more stable than before, haha... As far as I can tell. I don't know if AJ feels the same way though ;)

This is a bump picture from today... 33 weeks, 5 days. 

Actually looking like a baby bump! haha

6 weeks to go and we get to meet him! So glad this experience and pregnancy has been so great so far! Hope we finish strong :) Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, it is really going to be a great year!

Love,

Kelsey, AJ, & Baby Boy Rodriguez

I must say that we are so incredibly grateful to all of our friends and family! We had an amazing baby shower, and we feel so blessed with how much help it has been for us! Thank you to everyone! It was so fun to be able to catch up with so many of you, and feel your love for us and our little one. 

We Love You All So Much! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It really is a great holiday to be able to recognize all the blessings that we each have! I am so grateful for so many things. I truly know Heavenly Father is looking out for each of us! I'm so glad that he has a plan for me. This little boy is a huge part of it, and I can't wait for all the adventures that lie ahead!

Here are my prego questions for this week:

How Far Along: 28 weeks and 5 days (today 12/8/13)

Size Of Baby: about the size of a eggplant, about 13.6-14.8 inches long, and weighs about 1.5-2.5 pounds (according to "the Bump" app)

Maternity Clothes: still loving them :)

Stretch Marks: no new ones... lets keep that up!

Sleep:  I'm starting to hit that "tired all the time" stage again... but I sleep pretty good most nights :) ... just some nights with aching hips

Best Moment of the Week: watching him roll back and forth a few times in a row... so amazing!

Movement: He's a busy boy! He will usually go through 3 days or so being really busy, and then take a day off and have a much calmer lazy day. When we went into our 28 wk appointment his heart rate was 171, my doctor said he was a little wired. haha. I think he really likes to work out in the mornings and at night ;)

Cravings: I don't think I would consider this a craving necessarily, but AJ was chopping up a fresh pineapple (which I normally would not think twice about.... never have liked them) and it just smelled absolutely amazing! He asked me if I wanted to try it, so I did, very hesitantly.... It was so good! I haven't really craved it since then, but I am surprised that I actually liked it! 

Gender: BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Belly Button In or Out: same as before... it's about half way in and out... sometimes more out depending on where he is sitting. It's kinda funny when you can see it a little bit through my clothes

Wedding Ring on or off: off... we had to go get me a very lovely, very fake replacement... I tried just not wearing a ring since it wasn't fitting any more, but I kept feeling like I lost it, and I hated not wearing it. So this one will do... gives me peace of mind, knowing I haven't lost my real one!

What I Miss: The only thing I can think of (which isn't really even a big deal) is not eating cookie dough... I made sugar cookies this morning and it was very hard to say no to the dough, but I did! haha

What I am Looking Forward to: Week 30! I just hit my 3rd trimester, but 30 weeks seems like a huge milestone! 

Symptoms: I just get a little nauseated when I'm hungry, and I'm starting to do the "nesting" thing (I think that's what they call it) where you want to go through everything and get it all in perfect organized condition.... although, I've also been really tired the last couple of days- Thank goodness for my amazing husband who is willing to let me sit in the rocker while he does the heavy lifting! - thanks babe! :)

Nursery: Not an office anymore! It's not really a nursery yet... but all our our storage stuff has been moved down to our other closets (remember all that nesting stuff... yep! we are getting somewhere!) and we started putting his stuff in the nursery closet, and figuring out where we want to put things :) it's not complete... but once we get it there I'll be sure to post pictures!

Emotions: It seems that my emotions are running very high right now... Hopefully it doesn't stay this way after pregnancy! haha.

Thank you all for being a part of our journey! It really amazes me how fast it seems to be going... before we know it we will have a sweet baby boy in our arms, with lots of love from so many people! Hope you've enjoyed your Sunday!

Love,

Kelsey, AJ, & Baby Boy Rodriguez

This is a post that I started and didn't get posted until now... I seriously am terrible at this... But I had already answered the questions, and still wanted to put them up, I love being able to look back and read exactly how I've been feeling and doing! :) 

How Far Along: 25 weeks and 3 days (today 11/15/13)

Size Of Baby: about the size of a cauliflower, about 13.6-14.8 inches long, and weighs about 1.5-2.5 pounds (according to "the Bump" app)

Maternity Clothes: definitely worth it!

Stretch Marks: unfortunately a few :( 

Sleep:  sleeping great... minus a couple wake ups a night to use the restroom haha 

Best Moment of the Week: Feeling him hiccup! 

Movement: All the time! He's is active, even the doctor said so when he kept kicking the monitor when we heard his heartbeat at the 24 week appointment.

Cravings: Same as before... Nothing right now... but no barbecue or chinese food please

Gender: BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Belly Button In or Out: Halfway in and out haha... it kinda changes depending on his position too.

Wedding Ring on or off: On

What I Miss: I don't miss anything in particular, at least that I can think of... just so happy for this experience!

What I am Looking Forward to: Our CA Baby Shower on black friday haha! SO excited!  And hitting my 3rd trimester! 2 1/2 weeks to go!

Symptoms: a little bit of nausea here and there, but only if I am hungry.

Nursery: still being used as an office... after our baby shower we can really start going to town!

Emotions: Maybe a little bit emotional.... and sometimes more than other times... haha

Hope you're all doing well! Happy Holidays!

Love, 
Kelsey, AJ, & Baby Boy Rodriguez

It has been WAY too long since I've updated our blog.... I tried several times, but the pictures just wouldn't load... but I think I've finally got it!  Well, this is what I had written down from before :)

Our sweet baby is a BOY!!! We are so excited to meet this little guy in February! It seriously feels like time is flying by!

 Well here is an update from our 20 week appointment - Our Ultrasound went great! Except we've learned that at this point our little man is camera shy and wouldn't show us his sweet face! But it was so much fun to see him moving around in there- seriously looks crammed in there though. I have a very strong feeling I'm going to be growing rapidly in the next few weeks! Haha... But our ultrasound was done by my friend's husband, Brett, he's such a great guy and has the best job ever :) but he showed us all the details, because this was mostly a health ultrasound.... finding out the gender is just a plus.... a really BIG PLUS! But the baby's brain, heart and organs all look great! In fact he used our little man as an example for one of the other ultrasound techs to show her the 3 way vessle to the heart! I am already a proud mommy! He's growing so wonderfully :) His heart rate was at 148, and his arms, hands, legs, and feet are so cute to look at already! We got a really good look at one of those arms... because that's what he used to hide his face! 

When it came time to find the gender, Brett had us look away and then printed us a very obvious little picture of how we can tell! Our friend Kohn helped us by filling two boxes with either pink or blue, then he labeled one Kelsey and one AJ- But we didn't know which color was in which box... so it would be a surprise for us too! He also wrote down which was which for the Ultrasound Tech. When we told Brett at the appointment to write whichever name corresponded with the gender on the front of the envelope, we didn't do a great job at explaining it, so he thought those were just our guesses haha... but once he understood it was great! He wrote "Kelsey" on the envelope and sure enough it all worked out great! We took box marked "Kelsey" down to the River Walk and AJ got it all set up (not easy throwing a bag of bocce balls over a very tall tree to hoist up the box!). My friend Tara from work was taking pictures and Miranda (and Ravena :) ) were taking video for us. We had two chalk boards, one with Girl votes and one with Boy votes. Girl votes were at 28 and Boy votes were at 36. As soon as we pulled the latch down we saw all the blue confetti and balloons!! It was so much fun! Here are some pics from our gender reveal:

                        

I think my favorite part is being able to call the baby "he" or "him" and really mean it! This pregnancy keeps getting better and better, with each new experience! Now we just have to get everything ready for his arrival... easier said than done.... but we are so excited to get it all together! Our first purchase was a little outfit for him, it was hard not to go crazy and buy everything all at once! This was my 20 week bump, the day of the gender reveal :)

Sorry it took so long to get this updated! But we love this little guy so much!

Hope you're all doing well!

Love,

Kelsey, AJ, and Baby boy Rodriguez 

Baby R is growing so fast! I just can't believe that we are almost at the "halfway" point! We are loving this little baby more and more every day :) I'll tell you something really amazing that happened- I felt the baby!!! The first movement was at 17 Weeks 1 day, and the best part is that AJ felt it too! I thought I was crazy, but he definitely felt it, therefore- not crazy! But those were really hard kicks or punches or whatever they were... so I didn't feel much more after that. Then I started to feel the little "flutters," as most people call them, here and there. Then this week starting around monday (almost 18 weeks) I started feeling those flutters more and more, and then Wednesday AJ felt them again :) Now they are going back and forth between little flutters and harder kicks... It is the most amazing feeling! And I love that Daddy felt them the first time I did too!

So I found a list of questions people generally ask about pregnancy, so I thought I would update you all on what's happening. I've already spoiled 2 of the questions... but they are still fun!

How Far Along: 18 weeks  5 days (19 on Tuesday!)

Size Of Baby: about the size of a sweet potato, 6.7 oz and 5.6 inches (according to "the Bump" app)

Maternity Clothes: Just bought a couple of tops and a skirt... sooo much more comfy!

Stretch Marks: None so far... but we aren't even close to the size I'll end up, so keep your fingers crossed!

Sleep:  Great! AJ surprised me with an amazing pregnancy body pillow... it's wonderful! 

Best Moment of the Week: Feeling the baby move more consistently each day :)

Movement: Kinda sporadic, but enough where I feel those cute little nudges all throughout the day!

Cravings: Nothing right now... but I haven't liked anything barbecued or smoked my whole pregnancy so far... and that is not like me!

Gender: We find out in less than 2 weeks! yay!!  We aren't hoping for one gender or the other... Just a healthy baby!

Belly Button In or Out: In... and probably for a while... let's just say I have plenty of growing room!

Wedding Ring on or off: On

What I Miss: So far nothing!  Not even barbecued things that I used to love!

 :) this is such an amazing experience!

What I am Looking Forward to: Seeing our little sweet pea on the Ultra Sound next Friday!

Symptoms: I am hungry ALL THE TIME

Nursery: Still working on ideas... it'll help to know the gender!

Emotions: Most of the time I feel totally normal, and then there are.... 

those times.... haha- enough said

Here are some baby bump pictures too... slowly but surely getting bigger :)

 This is at 13 weeks 5 days- it's little, but it's there!

This one is today. I'm at 18 weeks 5 days, can you see the difference? :)

I love my Little Bump!! 

Thanks for loving our little one too, and keeping updated. We are so grateful for so many friends and family that are so loving and supportive! Hope you all are doing well!

Love,

Kelsey, AJ, and Baby R

Baby Rodriguez coming February 2014!

AJ and I are so excited to meet our little Spanish Rice in February! I will start from the beginning to catch everyone up! Two days before Father's Day I took the test, not actually thinking it would come out positive.... but there on that beloved little stick was the word: "Pregnant". I only had about 15 minutes until I expected AJ to call me to pick him up from work... So, I frantically ran to the local grocery store, got some pink and blue balloons and wrote a very short but sweet message to Daddy, wrapped that positive test in the note and tied the balloons to it. I left it sitting on our bed, just anxious to see AJ's reaction. We got home (finally! but no- i didn't spill the beans yet!) and AJ took his time coming into the house, he went to see Chase across the street, talked a little bit, came in the house, and was about to start packing for the Father and Sons camp out he was going to that night, when I told him to come upstairs. And then he saw the pink and blue balloons and pieced it together right there! His sweet face said it all! He was gonna be a DAD! What a perfect Father's Day present! So I sent him off to his camp out, swearing him to secrecy! haha... that was a little cruel, I think, but he couldn't not go! And that is just the beginning of our fun adventure! 

We started out with an ultrasound at 5 weeks and 5 days to make sure our sweet pea is in the right spot, and sure enough, we were able to see our little one! Barely the size of a small grain of rice (hence the name- "spanish rice")! Here is our sweet little one's first picture! Of course we fell in love at first sight, and sound! We were able to hear the softest little heart beat that just made my heart flutter! We were also able to see the blood flow, which is the red hi-lighted parts in the bottom half. That beautiful day was also the first day mommy threw up her entire breakfast in the parking lot at a local restaurant called Herm's... Ooops... At least it was for the best reason there is!

 The Next appointment we had was our 9 Week, where we got to meet our doctor- who we absolutely love- and we got to see our spanish rice again. Except this time our spanish rice was a little bit bigger with little tiny arm and leg buds! Nicknamed at that point Habenero Pepper. Here is Baby R's second picture!

Our Next appointment was the 12 Week appointment.... the last one of the first trimester! When the doctor came in and asked how I was feeling I told her I wasn't sure if it was nausea or nerves, but something wasn't right, she went and grabbed the ultrasound machine to "ease my nerves." And let me tell you- it definitely did! The minute we saw our growing baby again it was amazing! Baby R is looking more and more like a baby with arms, hands, legs, feet.... it was absolutely amazing to see that! We got to hear the heartbeat again, and then we got to see Baby R move! Incredible! The first one is a little dark and the second is the 3d pic, but here is Baby R's third photo shoot:

We were able to have some pictures taken so we could do an official announcement. Alyssa, and her mad graphic design skills, put together the cutest announcement for us! 

I am now 16 Weeks and 3 Days along, so about 4 months... and about 5 to go! We went in for a doctor's appointment this morning and everything is looking great! We have been spoiled to have had 3 ultrasounds so far, but this time we only got to hear the heartbeat, which was still amazing! She could tell Baby R was moving around a lot... which was fun to hear! So all in all- Baby R, Mommy, and Daddy are all doing great so far! We have been so blessed with this little miracle! We are excited to find out the gender at our next appointment, on October 11, where we can see our little tamale again! Hope you have enjoyed our little adventure so far!

Love,

Kelsey, AJ, and Baby R