Safe, and grateful

The calm before the storm: Christian and I went for a walk Sunday am.

I tried to go to work Monday, but clinic was closed down at noon.  I saw one very motivated and lovely patient that happened to live right by the hospital.  I sent her home to safety in a hurry.  My friend Abbe got me home safely and I nestled into a 3 hour nap.  When I awoke Christian had made his amazing soup and rented movies.  

We, of course, fell asleep early that night.  We were completely prepared with flashlights, candles, extra water, etc.  Imagine our surprise to wake up and find we still had power.  As the day unfolded and we realized how lucky we were.  We just sat at home for the day in shock.  We tried to contact loved ones far and let them know we were safe.  We tried to contact loved ones in the more dangerous areas and make sure they were ok.  

One of the most exciting things about staying home was getting the chance to Skype with Auntie Amy.  We are so grateful SHE is healthy and safely at home.  

One thing is for sure:  After three days without going to work, we are SURE that Christian is not cut out for stay-at-home parenting.  He's plenty caring and thoughtful, but not working has him climbing the walls.  It's not a tragedy, compared to what everyone else is going through, but his business is completely without power for an unknown length of time.  We're still unsure if there was flooding.  Not to mention lost business...it's a little unnerving for the poor guy.  We'll just see what the future has to hold.  

On our one outing today we saw our local subway station being pumped out.  Hopefully the trains will be functioning shortly.  Until then it's cabs to work.  I'm really feeling for my coworkers without cars that live far away.  

More from Lumena

Many thanks to Annemarie and Tom at Lumena.  We had so much fun!

Waiting for our surprise.

He was so nervous!

I'm relieved he's smiling and not disappointed that it's not a boy.

Of course I cried. 

Half-way point!

Where did this belly come from?

I snagged one good-looking man!

Daddy made the frame:)

Isn't She Lovely....

Great Legs!!  I need to find a little soccer ball sticker.  She'll be a salsa dancer for sure.

Spoiler Alert!

Four days was about all the will power we had.  So we took that little envelope down to Nolita, passed it to the baker and awaited our surprise.  

Special thanks to Annemarie and Tom at Lumena for capturing our fun.  

Also, if you haven't been to The Little Cupcake Bakeshop on Prince, you really should go.  The staff was so nice and the Strawberry frosting is out of this world!  

Now we are off to pick out frilly dresses and pink soccer jerseys...

We don't say the "F" word

Well, I got struck with a nasty throat/mucous/sleepy bug even though I get my flu vaccine every year.  Christian never gets it, and rarely gets sick so, of course, this lead to many discussions on preventative measures that may or may not also be harmful. I can foresee many discussions regarding el chicharito's wellbeing in the future!  One thing I know for sure, Christian is a great caretaker.  He made this amazing chicken-lime-chipotle soup that was magical.  He was very nurturing and I am lucky to have him:)

In other news, we had our anatomy ultrasound on Weds (more Pics to come soon).  It was the first time Chris had seen our baby move in real time.  He couldn't stay seated!  He was overwhelmed.  He told me at lunch afterwards that it suddenly made it "real".  He then went straight to Barnes and Noble to purchase a book on being a new father.  I was giddy with excitement at seeing all the movements I have been feeling.  Everything looked compeletely "normal".  We had the ultrasonographer write down the sex for us and we put it in a sealed envelope, to be opened at a later date.  While we have been acting all along as though we were having a boy, suddenly we were aware that it's possible that we are carrying a little girl.  We shall see!!  Stay tuned!

Holy Stroller

We recently joined a neighborhood list serve which is really awesome. We have scored a free breast pump, maternity clothes, cheap diapers AND we have met a lot of great families.  Our most recent purchase is a barely used Britax Stroller.  It's very much like the Vista we were considering buying, but a little bit lighter, and with more possible configurations.  It comes with a detachable second seat (the lady kept saying "for your second kid", yeah right).We're excited to double stroll with our nephew Kohner or future friends.  We can make it a travel system by putting a car seat in it.   We saved like $300.  Woohoo! Christian was so excited he took pictures and then immediately wanted to practice walking it around.

In other news, I'm definitely feeling some movement in my lower belly.  Sometimes it feels like bubbles, sometimes thumps.  It makes me smile every time. 

Other, less exciting pregnancy symptoms we are dealing with: rapid weight gain (a lot of it in my chest), acne (more than in my teen years), RIDICULOUS gas, foggy head and forgetfulness, constant hunger, sleepiness, snappy mood (poor Chris), lower back pain.  But other than that, I feel great!  I didn't realize I had a waddle, but sometimes after sitting for long periods my lower back gets really tight and it takes me a minute to walk right.  

Coworker: Why are you walking like that?

Me: Like what?

Coworker: Like you're pregnant or something.

Me: Because I'm pregnant...

Coworker: OH MY GOD!  HOW CUTE!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

I guess she thought I was just eating too much.   

A Visit From Family

This week baby Malvaez was lucky enough to get a visit from Aunt Sara. She even talked to Chicharito, whispering to my belly "Are you a Girl?  I want a Niece!".  Lots of belly rubbing which was so gentle and sweet.  While I haven't felt anything yet that I'm sure is baby movement, I know that the little one was happy to get some attention from Aunt Sara, Dad and Teresa.  

Here we are at the Museum of Natural History being scary Dinos:

In addition to walking around the city (which is exhausting!), Teresa and I had a little sewing project.  She was able to cut up the pants I can no longer button and put a maternity panel on them.  It's awesome!  It has tripled my maternity wardrobe and saved me possibly hundreds of dollars!!  I couldn't be more comfortable.  Thanks Teresa and Aunt Stephanie for the sewing machine loan!

Yes, that bump continues to get BIGGER, no doubt helped by three straight days of eating out.  Whoa.  

So, we've been getting a lot of questions about baby names.  We have narrowed down a few, but still haven't agreed on any for sure.  We are having an easier time with girl names than boy names.  I talked to Papa about it today.  He suggested "Charles", which is also my uncle's name!  We like the idea of family names, however, there is a serious lack of boy names that sound good in English and Spanish.  BTW, Charles in Spanish is Carlos.  John in Spanish is Juan.  Andrew in Spanish is Andres. There seem to be no equivalents for Kyle or Duane.  Edwin in Spanish...well, let's not.  Sara had suggestions but only for nieces.  They were Samantha, Christine and Jean.  I thought those were really nice names.  Keep those suggestions coming.  

Yes, we are finding out the sex, but not until Mid-October.  Stay tuned!