May We Be Better Together

Getting closer!!!

37 weeks and 6 days!!

We have a few more weekly appointments and it's crazy to think that Baby A could still arrive before we make it through all of them!! How am I feeling?

37 weeks and still snug as a bug!

Yesterday was 37 weeks for me! I was super anxious at the beginning of this week, anticipating what my doctor may say at my Monday appointment. Not sure what I expected, because it was really just a check-up. I'll be returning next week and hopefully I'll be a little more relaxed, but I guess this is pretty normal to be READY!!

This weekend, a group of my friends honored me before delivering Baby A! They did a fantabulous job...and I continue to feel blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family supporting me.

Christmas with the Orloff clan

From Bethesda, we flew to Boston to join the Orloff's and Nana and Lito for the holiday celebrations.

Just as I enjoyed seeing David interacting with Daniel, I loved seeing him with our nephews, Noah and Gavin.

As always, Noah brings out the silly-ness in his Tio.

Gavin is developing his own personality that includes lots of curiosity. I loved capturing this moment of siblings bonding side by side, David and Joelle & Noah and Gavin, with Nana smiling in the background

Joelle found matching pajamas for the boys to wear on Xmas day

Can't leave the girls out!! Too fun :) These pj's will make a great outfit to add to my hospital bag for baby A's arrival. Thanks Tia Joelle <3

We had a great xmas morning and later in the day, we had more guests! David and Carol, Howie's parents, joined us--as well as one of Carol's siblings and her daughter. Samantha hopped into this picture as well. Another great Alevy holiday photo :)

Can't forget that David and I LOVE getting dim sum whenever the opportunity arises. We returned to the same restaurant we visited 2 years ago when we were in Boston. It was delicious!!

Baby A seemed to like it too :)

We fit in a quick walk around Boston...but when it began to snow, we headed back to Hopkinton! I could have stayed out longer, but it was definitely warmer in the Orloff household.

Couldn't pass up on some bowling since it's become a tradition. I loved sharing some Baby A kicks with Joelle, too.

And an adult's only dinner was in order for all of us. Another yummy meal on our vacation!

It was a wonderful xmas break. We missed seeing the Ryan and Bohn families this year, but I know they had a terrific time in sunny Tampa! Down the road, I know we'll all fit in another get together <3

May the traveling begin!

For our final Alevy trip before baby A arrives, we started by visiting the Abel clan in Bethesda, MD.

Their 10-month old Daniel is so wonderful to be around and we loved getting some baby practice time in. I especially enjoyed seeing David interact with the little ones. I'm so looking forward to seeing what a wonderful father he will play to our own.

Daniel's so happy playing with Uncle David :)

And of course I can never give too many kisses!!

Grandma Linda kept Daniel for an evening so the four adults could go out like good old times. We had a delicious dinner and absolutely loved catching up with Lauren and Jarred. I so miss how easy it was for us to see them when they lived in Birmingham. It's not the same, but I treasure any opportunity we get to celebrate our friendship.

Along with seeing MY best friend, one of David's friends from Venezuela happened to be visiting the DC area at the same time as we were! Anthony and his wife recently celebrated their marriage and unfortunately, we were unable to attend the festivities. Seeing them during this vacation gave us a chance to catch up more intimately and....Even though I wanted all of this vacation time to be spent with my Lala, I'm glad that we all had a chance to meet Anthony, his wife, his sister and her baby girl for a delicious Venezuelan lunch.

Since Anthony is living in London these days, I'm hopeful that we may be able to see them again when we head over one day to catch up with my British family :)

Great start to a great holiday season!

35 weeks and getting excited!

35 weeks here we are! Feeling good and getting excited!

My grandmother told me recently that when she was pregnant, her doctor instructed her to walk at least a mile a day. I'm taking her doctor's suggestion seriously for the rest of my pregnancy. While I fell off the bandwagon during the holiday break, I'm back on and enjoying it.

It's been really cold this week, so I met friends, on both Tuesday and Wednesday, to walk at Brookwood Mall. It reminds me of when I was a kid and how funny I thought it looked to see people 'mall-walking' at Eastwood Mall. I'm officially an adult...and thankful for it! I only feel bad when I leave my Azaria behind and promise her that it will get warmer out and we will walk again.

We had an ultrasound last week. After my friend Emily C mentioned that she requested a 4D shot of her baby boy, I thought I'd try the same thing :) While the tech was kind to move us to another room for that option, our baby A has let us know that he/she is a stubborn little one!

Irena, the tech, kept saying in her thick Russian accent, "come on baby, move your hand!" While we may not have seen some shots that other parents see, I was just excited to catch this glimpse. How cute is that nose?! Anyone want to take a stab at who baby A looks like??

We're getting close to the big day, so I'm researching how I can prepare in case we have an early delivery. I'll be packing our hospital bags in the next week and finalizing my birth plan as well. While I realize everything will not go as planned, with a natural birth on the horizon--it's better for me to think through what I hope for. Only time will tell, and I can't wait to share my birth story when all is said and done.

Better late than never...

My first semester of grad school is over and now I'm getting time to catch up on items I wish I had kept up better....especially the blog! Is this a look into how it will be once Baby A is here too? I hope not...I really do want to keep a journal and keep everyone updated on our family, so I'll have to figure out a better way of structuring time for my blog!

To catch all of you up on the last couple months...

I did my last big run at 29 weeks on Thanksgiving Day. I hadn't run a 10k (6.2) since pregnancy began, but I had been looking forward to this race the whole time. A week leading up to it, I was pretty anxious....but with a lot of wonderful other runners and supporters, I made it--AND RAN THE WHOLE TIME! My Juju was a great motivator because she stuck with me the whole race. I started with David and Azaria, but they decided to hang back after a bit...and I caught up with Ian, Julie, Harry, and a few other friends. Julie and I stuck together the whole time and I will always remember finishing that race with her. Love my cuz!!

IAN was awesome...and beat me this year!! :) I'm glad he did because he was able to snap these pictures..including one of my baby bump!! This was at the very end. I ran 6.2 miles in 1:05--much better than I expected.

Here is a Saag/Rathmell/Alevy shot after the race--loved seeing Lauren and Stef out there for a hot second!!!

My Alevy family---HOW PROUD I WAS TO HAVE THEM ALL THERE WITH US!! Claude came in shortly after I finished--he and his brother Michel ran in regular pants!!! Of course Joshua, David's younger cousin, finished before any of us...still young and on fire! Caty and Judy also participated and I was so glad they didn't all hate me by the end of the race.

I was most excited to have my hubby out there! We've never done a race together and while I wish we had finished it together, I'm either going to have to slow down or he's going to have to train for that to happen. He and Azaria did the 6.2 miles together and that's a lot for David, considering he prefers his couch over any of that craziness.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our home--and cooked the turkey on our Kamodo Joe! It was delicious!!

I love having everyone together--and especially that we were able to have Alevy's and Rathmell's together this year. Michel took the photo so I could join the group--so he's missing from the table. Michel, Caty, and Joshua drove in from Houston and I loved getting to know all of them better. One day down the road...I look forward to making a trip to visit them! Good excuse to head out to Texas, of course, we'd be seeing my Ian as well!! :)

This year we celebrated Hanukkah along with Thanksgiving....SO MUCH FOOD!!! Bubbe hosted a night of Hanukkah at her house and I ate WAY TOO much. I'm supposed to get an extra 300 calories each day, but not at one meal! I had some pretty awful cramps...and learned that I have to be more mindful of how little space there is for extra food. Aunt Lori and David were quick to join me on the couch, but I don't know what their excuses were ;)

First semester DONE! This is a snapshot from one of my last classes--a few of my peers were acting out a committee meeting--and it created quite a bit of laughter at times. I'm going to miss the friends I've made and hope that we stay in touch...

I am taking one class next semester and will start the assignments as soon as my teacher posts them online--I look forward to having some school work stimulation when the baby arrives, but I don't want to stress out if I can't submit assignments--so hopefully I can knock them out earlier.

This is SOME of the Spring 2015 MSW class--such a great group of social workers!! :) I'm on the back row, far left.

Check out this hunk! HE'S BUILDING A KITCHEN TABLE!!! It will have plenty of room to eat on--and our meals will be even more amazing because we will sit around the beautiful table that he (and Claude) built for our family. This was taken a couple of weeks ago--and it still needs to be planed, sanded, and stained--but I will make sure to post a photo when it is complete! LOVE IT. Especially love that it reminds me of my Dad--and how lucky I am to have a husband who enjoys similar, rewarding projects.

I'm sure you've all been waiting for a baby bump update! ;) 31 WEEKS and going strong! I'm feeling well and still getting around comfortably. Since running the Thanksgiving race, I've cut back to walks--after one wog, I was aching and having trouble sleeping all night-so walking it is. Although, sleeping seems to be the most challenging, even without going on a run. Baby A loves to move around when I'm trying to sleep, especially early hours in the AM and later hours when I'm relaxing. I do love the movement though :)

My Azaria--so spoiled :) The futon is the only piece of furniture we actually allow her to be on, and she's really enjoyed keeping me company while working in the office. This was taken last week after we had a nice walk together and I then worked on the computer for a few hours.

David and I attended the "New Life Series" class at UAB yesterday. It was a great class and we were given a blonde, blue-eyed baby girl doll to practice swaddling and 'bathing'. We learned a lot about labor and delivery, natural or medicated, and we met other couples who are expecting around the same time. Out of the 15-20ish couples who were in attendance, I think there were only 2 of us who are trying to go natural.

That's all for now, folks! I hope to blog again before the New Year! To everyone out there, Happy Holidays and Happy 2014!! May it be a wonderful year for all ;)

Love and hugs,