2 DAYS in NYC

Finally an update on our trip to New York from a couple of weeks ago.  Josh and I flew into NYC to spend a couple of days site-seeing before meeting up with my family to take a cruise from New Jersey to Bermuda.  We were so excited to take advantage of some time in the BIG APPLE.  We stayed in a hotel near Times Square which is of course a very touristy area, but it was very easy to hop the subway and get to wherever we wanted to go from there...

On DAY 1 we did a lot of walking from times square through mid town and up to central park.  We visited Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral and FAO Schwarz.  

 Preggo in Grand Central Station

 In front of Rockefeller Center

 30 Rock?

 Josh with Leggo batman in FAO Schwarz

For lunch with were able to meet up with Tasha - my college roommate and our good friend.  Tasha's parents still live in Jax as well and so we occasionally get to see her over Christmas Break when we are all home.  Tasha works and lives in Manhattan (fascinating, I know!)... We live vicariously through her :).  She took us to this really nice sandwich place a couple of blocks from the Plaza.  While inside, we saw Patrick Duffy (from Dallas and STEP by STEP) eating lunch in the corner - I took an awkward stalker picture of him that I will not share... we were all excited to see a celebrity!

After lunch we took a walk through central park (remembering just how big it really is...)

 Bridge from Enchanted??

 Lovely afternoon in the Park...

That night we went to see The Lion King on Broadway.  It was amazing.  We loved the sets, costumes, puppets and of course, the music!  The theatre was literally one block from our hotel (very convenient).  

On Day 2 we headed downtown to the Financial District to check out the new World Trade Center buildings.  The main tower is massive.  It is now all framed out and they are finishing with the exterior glazing.  It was unbelievable to see stand under it and see the scale.  We did not realize that you had to sign up in advance to be able to tour Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial... we were only able to walk the surrounding blocks.  

From there we walk to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty across the water... there she is pretty small in the picture below...

After lunch we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge - it was beautiful!  I must say, it was pretty tiring and hot to make it to the top, but the whole other side was downhill and so it got better.  One request that this pregnant woman would like to make: a bathroom at the top.  

This is definitely something that we were excited to do and can now mark it off of Josh's bucket list!

On the other side of the bridge, we landed in Brooklyn Heights.  We absolutely loved the neighborhood, so we decided to walk around a bit.

On Sunday morning (day 3) we went to a local breakfast place around the corner from our hotel and then packed up and met my aunt, uncle and cousins to catch a van to New Jersey and board the ship to Bermuda!!  I will update soon with our actual cruise to Bermuda...

Birmingham Shower for Baby Boy Hewiett

This past Saturday, June 23rd some of my sweet friends in Birmingham threw a baby shower for Baby Boy Hewiett - shower hostesses (shown here on the left) were Laura, Katie and Tara.  The shower was for brunch at Tara's house.  There was such a nice turn out of our good friends from Birmingham and it was so nice to catch up with everyone.  We are so thankful for all of the wonderful gifts that they gave Baby Boy Hewiett.  

"H" sign for our Baby Boy - hung on the door for the shower :) 

Gift Table 

Food Table 

Eating during the shower... 

Opening Gifts - A bobby pillow (I have heard this is a must!!) 

Little Gator :) 

 Can't wait to dress our little man :)

Christine and Levi (The life of the party!) 

 Capstone Peeps: Sarah Harper, Rebecca, Tara & Katie

Sarah and I - thank you so much for coming!! 

 Small Group: Laura & Katie

The weekend was a lot of fun - Sarah drove down on Friday night from Jackson to stay with us.  Josh drove us to Birmingham Saturday AM and then we shopped in Birmingham after the shower before heading back to Huntsville to (first rest) and show Sarah around Huntsville.  Sarah - THANK YOU so much for coming this weekend - I am so glad you could be there :).  And thanks to my sweet husband for chauffeuring two pregnant women around all day - we got lots of looks, to say the least.

Thank you so much to my sweet hostesses and to everyone that came to the shower.  We appreciate everyone so much and are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Happy Monday everyone - I am (trying) to be better about the blog updates... still to come: NEW YORK and our CRUISE updates as well as some of the work we have been doing to the house!  I hit the road (airways??) in two weeks for a month and a half for work - I have 4 installs to complete before finishing up mid-August just in time for our friends and family showers in Jax.  More posting soon!

IN BERMUDA at 24 WEEKS :: 6 MONTHS!!

I can't believe that I am already 6 months along!!  Last Friday was 24 weeks for Baby Boy Hewiett and we were on vacation on a cruise to Bermuda.  It was so beautiful and such a great way to relax and regroup after our move and before this busy summer of travel and busy Fall (of course) with the arrival of our baby boy.  I am hoping to do an update post on our trip to New York/Cruise to Bermuda... in the mean time, here is my 24 week update:

How Far Along: 24 Weeks (Last Friday)

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a eggplant (9 inches long, 1.7 lbs)

The Bad: An occasional leg cramp that wakes me up screaming (poor Josh) in the middle of the night... I am trying harder to make sure I drink 8-10 glasses of water and a banana every other day and it seems to be helping

Maternity Clothes: I am in maternity pants and tops all the time now... don't really have anything non-maternity that fits anymore. I am also loving the maternity dresses - very comfortable!

Gender: BOY - we can't wait to meet him :)

Sleep: Still getting up at least once to use the bathroom each night... still trying to sleep on my side but sometimes I wake up on my back and it is painful... then gets more difficult to turn over.  

Movement: All the time - it is amazing to me how I started feeling a little flutter and within a matter of a month and a half, I can feel him doing flips and kicks ALL THE TIME!!  I still get so excited each time I feel him... so special.  Josh has learned that sometimes he can push on my stomach and baby boy will push back.  

What I miss: Snorkeling... wish I could have gone when we were in Bermuda.  Josh went and said it was beautiful... it is all worth it in the end, though!!

Cravings: Still no real cravings - I am so thankful that I don't feel any food aversions... early on I could not eat (or smell) Mexican or pork without feeling extremely sick.  Josh is also very thankful this has past!

Symptoms: More frequent trips to the bathroom (that was a lot of fun when we were touring NYC!!), ever growing belly :)

Best Moment this week: Spending the week with family and showing them the sonogram DVD.  We also got to show Josh's parents when they visited a few weeks back.  So special.  Also - we have selected a name!!  We are telling our close friends and family but we plan to wait to "announce" it on Facebook until he arrives.

So... I am actually 25 weeks along tomorrow... time is certainly flying!!  We are so thrilled that we will be meeting our sweet little one in about 3.5 more months.

Here are some upcoming baby updates/potential future blog posts:

- First Baby Shower is this Saturday - thrown by our sweet friends in Birmingham :)

- Another Sonogram in a week and a half - just to check progress and get cleared for my summer of travel for work

- Nursery work in progress - we are slowly collecting items and need to start putting everything together.  Some things we have planned: painting the crib we purchased from craigslist GREEN, installing an industrial light fixture and hanging some industrial wire shelving to display books, toys, etc.  (PICTURES OF ALL TO FOLLOW!!)

THE NEW HEWIETT HOME

We have finally moved!! Josh and I have been busy moving, painting, unpacking, organizing and renovating our new home in Huntsville.  I hope to complete more detailed blog posts talking about the work we have done to the house so far... but here are a few pics we took before we moved in... 

 

Den w/ Fireplace - Before we moved in, painted, got a new light & window treatments

Laundry in Hallway

Half Bath - Complete with mauve walls...

 

Kitchen w/ Red Walls... a little overwhelming... we can fix that :)

Entry w/ Stained Glass over door 

 Foyer/Staircase before we painted...

 Formal Living Room/Dining Room

 Spare Bedroom - Soon to be the Nursery :)

 Guest Bathroom

Master Bedroom - Lots of Green 

Vanity in Master Bath 

Back porch and yard = Molly's paradise :)

We have been working really hard to fix things up and get organized... big projects will obviously take us some time, but I am excited to document the process on the blog.  I am hoping to fill you in on some projects we have tackled so far and show you updated pictures of how it is looking so far.

We are so incredibly thankful for our new home and ultimately want to use it to glorify God as our family grows.

20 Week Update

How Far Along: 20 Weeks (Last Friday)

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a banana (7 inches long, 11 oz)

The Bad: Still a little heartburn... but other than that, I can't complain!

Maternity Clothes: I am in maternity pants and tops all the time now... don't really have anything non-maternity that fits anymore. I am also loving the maternity dresses - very comfortable!

Gender: BOY!!!  We were able to find out super early at our 15 week appointment with a quick sonogram... we got to confirm it last week at our official 20 week sonogram.  We officially announced it on facebook as well - we are so excited to meet our little man!

Sleep: Still getting up at least once to use the bathroom each night... trying to sleep on my side as much as possible now and it is getting difficult/slightly uncomfortable.  

Movement: About  two weeks ago (around 18.5 weeks) I started feeling some definite movement.  2 days before I hit 20 weeks... Josh felt him kick as well!  I was so excited that he got to feel him kick too.  Our little boy is pretty active at night... especially right around 10:30 or so when I am trying to go to sleep :).  

What I miss: Sleeping on my back...

Cravings: Nothing too crazy yet... I was craving peanut butter a lot in the beginning.  I later discovered that peanuts were the source of a lot of my heartburn... I had to give it up for the time being.  

Symptoms: Heartburn, frequent trips to the bathroom, belly showing :)

Best Moment this week: Seeing the detailed sonogram at our 20 week appointment - it was so exciting to see all of the details of our little guy.  What a miracle.  

This week we also moved into our new house in Huntsville!  It is excited to get settled and unpacked as we prepare for our expanding family.  We are so thankful for the many blessings that God has given us including a new home.  

I am hitting the road for work this week... I am hoping to update everyone when I return with pictures of our new house!!  Stay tuned...

15 WEEKS!!

How Far Along: 15 Weeks (Last Friday)

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an avocado (4-5 inches long)

The Bad: TIRED.

Maternity Clothes: I am pretty much in maternity pants all the time now... only have a couple of non-maternity pants that still fit. I received lots of maternity clothes from my best friend Jackie (thank-you!!) and my mom and I went shopping when she was hear for Easter. I am loving the maternity dresses - very comfortable!

Gender: Our official appointment is set for May 14th to have our "20 week" sonogram... we did find out a little early though. We are so thrilled, but are waiting to reveal it to the world (facebook, etc) a little longer :)

Sleep: Still getting up at least once to use the bathroom each night - I am thinking this will only get worse?!? Other than that I am sleeping very well so far.

Movement: Nothing yet!! I was told that the jolt I thought I felt last month was too early...

What I miss: Deli sandwiches... sometimes I just want a ham and cheese sandwich that is not heated...

Cravings: I have really started to crave asian food... mainly stir-fry dishes like fried rice or pad thai. I am still having aversions to mexican food and pulled pork... poor Josh - these are two of his favorites.

Symptoms: The heartburn is getting a little worse... I pretty much get it every day.

Best Moment this week: At our appointment this week - we got to HEAR the heartbeat for the first time!! On our last appointment the Doctor had a hard time finding it since it was still so early. This time, she was able to find it right away. It was a "strong 152". We were so excited to get to hear it!! Later... they offered to do an early sonogram to see if they were able to determine the sex of the baby... I will update on this very soon!

Things are progressing nicely! It feels like time is starting to go by very quickly. We are just so thankful and so excited for this little miracle!!