31 WEEK APPOINTMENT

Friday was my 31 week appointment. As I've said before, I always get nervoUs before appointments because I don't want my blood pressure to be high. It was perfect, and no protein in urine! I gained 2 lbs in 2 weeks which puts me at 8 lbs total! I thought it was 9 lbs, but the Dr. said it was only 8. She encouraged me to keep my gain at 15 lbs or less, and that's what I'm shooting for. Julian is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule still. Which means, I could have another long baby on my hands :) His heart rate was at 135 and he remains very very active. In fact, his movements can get a little frustrating some days because if I am sitting in a chair and he doesnt like my position, he will kick and kick until I move. He does the same thing at night as well. He has officially become more active than Isabella was in my tummy, which is pretty crazy because she was a non stop mover as well. I am a little nervous that I have weeks to go still and he is only getting bigger, which means more frequent and harder kicks! I am much more tired this go round than with Bella, and he continues to give me some tummy aches with some foods. Overall, things look good and we are getting more anxious for his arrival.

31 WEEKS ALONG...

Julian's co-ed baby shower

This past Saturday, my best girlfriends, along with my Mom and sister, threw us Hoovers a co-ed shower for baby Julian. It was so much fun! I wanted this shower to be very laid back and not with the traditional games. I also wanted our best guy friends to be there as well. We have so many great friends in our life and half of them are men, so we thought it would be even more special to celebrate with everyone. It was a complete blast! The girl made all the fixings, and all I had to do was make the pulled pork for sandwiches. All the food was amazing and the girls did such a great job with the decorations and making sure I had to do very little.
We also played some fun games. The 1st was "How well do you know the Hoovers?" It was so funny to see how our closest friends and family answered the 20 questions related to us. The 2nd game was the bottle drinking game. All the men had 4 oz of beer to drink from a baby bottle. It was hilarious! They all looked so funny! I really can't thank our best friends enough for doing what they did for Eric and I, we are so blessed with the best friends in the world.Isabella was such a good girl, especially since there was almost 40 people in our house. I think she really loved all the attention from everybody. It's never happened that she has her grandparents, Godparents, and all her "aunts" and "uncles" all together in one house. SHe was loving it, as did we.
My sister and Dad were here from San Diego which was also awesome. Everyone is so excited to have a boy in our family. As far as gifts, we got the crib, stroller, car seat, bed set, clothes, some very special homemade gifts, and more. Baby Julian is already spoiled. Eric and Nino Steve painted Julian's room the next day, which makes things so much more surreal. I can't wait for him to be here! Here are some pictures from our fun day...

THE SHADOWBOX MADE BY MARYANN



THE AWESOME BASKET FROM TORTORA'S


DIAPER CAKE FROM THE COX'S

28 weeks pregnant

Today I had my 28 week prenatal appointment as well as my glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. I am measuring a few days ahead of schedule, as I did with Bella. I gained one pound since 4 weeks ago (7 lbs total) and blood pressure was great. I am super happy! I have had a pretty good pregnancy but I am having some pretty terrible leg pain. They have been so bad that I wake up almost every night with what feels like a Charley horse. The first night, I woke up at about 3:15 wanting to scream it hurt so bad. Eric had just left for work and I was freaking out! I got up and walked around the house with Sadie and tried to get the pain to stop. After about 10 minutes, the pain finally subsided. However, every night for the past 2 weeks, I wake up at least once with some sort of leg pain. I talked to the nurse about it today, she suggested more calcium and to stretch before bed. Ahhh the joys of pregnancy :) I also have more stomach issues with this little guy. If I eat something spicy or too greasy, I will get acid indigestion which I did not get with Bella. My baby girl liked all the yummy foods :) Overall, I can't complain, I'm doing okay and have officially hit the 3rd trimester so the end is in sight. I was talking to a girl at work today and we were talking about how I obviously know I'm pregnant, but it still hasn't hit me that I will have a newborn baby at home and how different things will be. I am excited for Bella to have a brother, excited to take part in the journey of having a son, and of course to add another member to our family. I love being a Mom and can't wait to have 2 kiddos calling me "Mommy".

28 WEEKS PREGGO

Easter Sunday 2010

This year Eric FINALLY had Easter day off. We started the festivities off with giving Bella her Easter basket from us, aka the Easter bunny :) We made the entire basket Dora themed complete with a talking Dora doll, Dora water painting book, a Dora potty chair, a Dora puzzle, a Dora book, a Dora placemat for the table, and of course some candy. She loved it! I attached a video of her opening it up. After breakfast, we all got dressed to head to Chandler to meet Grandpa and Grandma Hoover, Great Grandma Ruth, and more family for a fun day at the park. It was an awesome park with a water pod, a train, a lake, and a huge playground. Bella played with Daddy and Grandpa at the playground and had a great time. We had a yummy meal of ham, salads, fruit, etc. Bella got a basket from Grandma and Grandpa and also from Great Grandma. Bella napped in the car ride home and by the time we got home, it was time for more Easter festivities. Nani, Nino, The Cox family, Gail, and Megan joined us for Easter dinner. We had another huge spread of yummy food. Bella got another basket from Nino, Nani,and Gail full of clothes, Dora kite, sidewalk chalk, etc. That girl was spoiled rotten ! We also had our annual Easter "lottery ticket hunt" put on by Nani for the adults. It was a great Easter and we felt so blessed to spend it with those we love so much.

Friday and Saturday Easter Weekend 2010

I was lucky enough to have a long Easter weekend this year. I had Good Friday off and the Monday after Easter. When I am home with Bella for extended periods, I like to plan fun things for her and I to do. Friday, we met a child that I work with and her Mom at a child's gym. It was one huge room full of trampolines,balancing beams, jumping castle, and more big kid gymnastics equipment. Bella enjoyed the trampolines, jumping equipment, and the blueberry pit. The blueberry pit is a huge pit of blue squishy material that you can either slide in to or jump from a beam in to. Of course Bella slid in to it. She had fun with it ! I was excited to see they had a jumping castle because that is what we plan to have for her 2nd Birthday party. However, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it! We are hoping that since the jumpy will be in our own backyard she will be okay with it. Anyway,she ran and jumped and played for an hour and a half at the gym and then started to get really cranky and tired. So we went home for lunch and her nap. When she woke up, we joined Deb and Delia on a trip to the Anthem outlets. We shopped and shopped and shopped. It was a beautiful day out and enjoyed walking around outside. By the end of the day, we were both exhausted!




The following day, her and I did our usual routine of grocery shopping and laundry. Later in the afternoon, it was time to head to the Tortora's to celebrate Guiliana's 2nd Birthday! I can hardly believe how fast these girls are growing up (they are 8 weeks apart). Bella played in the sandbox, ran around, and ate pizza and cake. It was a great time. Here are photos from our 2 days of fun..