Here is the latest photo of Baby Hillborn. He was moving his head a bit so it was tough to get a perfect shot. Although, its not hard to make out his mouth, cheeks nose and eyes. Its pretty incredible that this little person will be here in 7 weeks!!!!

Baby Hillborn and I are getting bigger by the day! I had a check up last week and all is well. Unfortunately my little bean is camera shy, so the ultrasound now looks like a big white circle where his head is. I opted for my belly shot, its more entertaining.  I have another check up tomorrow so maybe, just maybe we will get a good photo. Most importantly, my little bean is doing very well and is already measuring above average. We are going to have a big baby…yay for me!

I cant believe its already December. Last week was Thanksgiving and we had a great day. We went to our friend Sheri and Cam’s house, were we have have actually spent a few holidays.  I baked Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows, which I do every year. Usually id call my mom and ask her how she made them, although the great thing about my mom, is that she rarely followed a recipe, she just winged it. Her food was always delicious.  I pretty much remembered what she told me from last year, bourbon, that was her secret. Of course I was a little sad a I was in the kitchen baking…. I still cant believe almost a year has gone by without her. I know she would be proud of me though. She always wanted me to live my life and be happy no matter what. So, I keep on living The Sweet Potatoes turned out delicious! Craig and I had leftovers for days. Actually Craig took all for last week off and it was very much needed.  He has really been doing so much this year and he needed and deserved a break, to just relax, sleep in and rejuvenate.  And, of course, the minute our little bean arrives, there will be no sleep and no relaxing!

Well, that’s it for now. Oh, I also included some new photos of the little ones room. We decided, ok well I decided I had to move everything around because I didn’t like the set up. We are still awaiting our slip cover for the couch and its driving me nuts we dont have it!  I know my mother would be laughing because its what she did all the time.

Here are some recent belly shots….at this point I cant imagine getting any bigger, yet I know its coming. I am feeling great and really enjoying Baby Hillborns movements. I can tell he is getting bigger and Craig and I are able to see him move through my belly and feel his kicks very strongly. We went to the beach over the weekend and took pictures for our Holiday card along with some other fun shots just for us. It was a really beautiful day and the water was a great temperature, I wanted to go swimming!! We had so much fun together.

Here are some pics from my baby shower. It was a really fun day and it was so great to see everyone. The food thanks to Sheri was amazing, Susan did the the decoraions, Sandra the flowers and the delicious pumpkin cheesecake and Natalie organized the day with lots of fun and games. Of course there were some good cocktails and champagne (none for me) because whats a party without a cocktail!

 Auntie Gail, Susan and Michael

 Sheri and Natalie

 Relaxing as the day comes to an end

 Craig with Cage, our neighbor Suzy’s little boy that we adore!!!

the adorable decorations

This will be a quick post because im exhausted!

Let me start by saying my shower was wonderful!! It was this past Sunday and my girls did an incredible job. I will have photos and more info about that soon. 

As for Baby Hillborn, he/she is doing great! Baby is officially 3 pounds and is projected to be 8 or 9 pounds at birth. Baby is measuring above average and has been for the entire pregnancy, which the doctor told us yesterday. That’s very exciting! We had a great appt and got to see the little one move all around, the doc checked his heart and turned the machine to color so we could see all 4 chambers of the heart and actually watch the blood flow through all the chambers. AMAZING!!!! that’s all I can say. One of these days ill figure out how to load the DVD of the visit on here. Anyway, Baby is looking great and Craig and I just cant wait to meet our little person. I am now officially going to see my doctor once a week. We really are coming into the home stretch!!! Stay tuned for more..

Camera shy Baby Hillborn

my amazing gift basket of baby presents!!

 27 week belly shot…im getting big!

Well, here I am at 27 weeks feeling very big and very pregnant. Its ironic because last year at this time, I was telling my mom that I might not be able to fly home for her biorthday because I might be well into a pregnancy. Yesterday, Nov 6th was my mothers 60th birthday. Of course she didnt want to turn 60, but she always loved a good party no matter what.  So, while I did cry yesterday mornign when I woke up, especially after Craig gave me some beautiful cards, I decided not to mope all day but to celebrate, as she would have! For starters, my friend Courtney and her daughter Ava came up from Orange County for the day to visit me and to share in Gavinsbirthday. They brought cupcakes and candles and we sang happy birthday. It was really special. She also brought me an amazing gift basket filled with presents for Baby Hillborn!! To end the day, my friend Sheri and her son King came over and cooked a steak for dinner. Gavin’s  favorite thing to eat was a steak withred wine, so of course, we had that in her honor. Sheri and King (who is 11) have spent time with Gavin over the years, and last night King remembered so many little things about her (the blue wine rings she had around the bottom of each wine glass) and came up with a wonderful idea of creating a memory shoe box, with all sorts of her favorite and funny things….its incredible to listen to the mind of a child, especially King, for me, because the innocence is still there and he has an amazing way of always making me feel better and saying all the right things.  We had a great night, and I know my mom would have enjoyed it very much.

Now a quick note about Baby Hillborn. He or She is doing very well and growing big and strong. I have a photo, but he seems to be a bit camera shy. Every-time we tried to get his face, he would turn his head. But that’s ok, as long as the little one is healthy, that’s all that matters! Next week we go for official measurement’s of Baby Hillborn. Hopefully with a little more time under the camera he will show his face…As for me, im starting to get more tired and my feet are starting to hurt by the end of the day.  Otherwise, things are pretty much the same, no major cravings other than cereal and I am just taking it easy.   My baby shower is this Sunday and I am looking forward to enjoying the day with my friends. We are closing in on the home stretch now!!! Yipeee

So much has happened in the past week. We have a new President Elect of the United States! Barack Obama…yes we voted for him and are so looking forward to the positive change he will bring to our country. We are also so excited to be having Baby HIllborn at this historic time.

On another note, the Phillies won the world series for the first time since 1980!! Of course Craig was beside himself with happiness.  Here is a photo of Craig after the win….in total shock and euphoria!

Hi Everyone, sorry its taken a bit to get a post and a new photo. Amazingly, I have been busy! I have had lots of visitors over the last week or so and I actually went out to dinner this week, with a good friend that was in town.  This past weekend, we had family friends in town who stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. For those of you who dont know, its my favorite hotel in all of LA, and probably on my top 5 list of hotels. Lucky for me, I was able to spend a day being pampered by the pool, go for a swim and be waited on by a lovely pool boy. It was a nice treat for a pregnant lady. I also think they have one of the best pools in town so for me it was a perfect day. Craig and I also had diner at the Polo Lounge with our family friends and we celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week on Oct 16th.  We both cant believe its been 4 years. So much has happened in this past year alone. 

Well now onto baby news and my latest bump photo.  I basically look like I have a basketball stuffed under my clothes!  I also got the results of my glucose test and I dont have gestational diabetes, thank god!! Everything came back normal other than im reading as slightly anemic, which is a simple fix. I just need to take extra iron pills. Otherwise, I am totally healthy. I am not loving being pregnant so much, but I do know that it is a miracle and I am incredibly lucky that I get to experience it. As for baby Hillborn, well he is getting big! I had my ultrasound yesterday and my doctor took an estimate measurement and she thinks he is about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds already. So, as I suspected, we are growing a big baby! We were not able to get a good photo of the little one as he had his arms crossed in front of his face and was hiding as we kept trying. My doctor was great though she kept at it for a bit, but he just didn’t want to show his face. We were able to see his long legs and feet and his arms. Its really amazing how much he looks like a real baby now. Oh and his head….its huge! Well at least to me it looks like a giant melon. Craig had a huge head when he was born… yikes! I go back in 2 weeks, for my next ultrasound and we will take official measurement’s and hopefully get a good photo at the next appt.  Oh and as for the baby’s position, well he is sideways. His head is on the right and his legs and feet are on the left, and he is facing forward. Its better than being breach, but it seems he still doesn’t want to turn around. But, we have time.  Finally, next week we are going for our hospital tour. We get to see the maternity ward and check everything out before hand so we know where to go and what to do.

As I end this post today, I am thinking about Mary Hillborn. It has been 7 years today that she left this world. I feel blessed to have known her and spent time with her.  Craig is doing ok today, but as we get closer to baby Hillborns arrival, he is feeling the sadness of not having his mom here with him.  But, at least we have each other.

23 Weeks

Here is my latest bump photo. We didn’t get to good a shot of Baby Hillborn today. He or she is currently in the breech position. Meaning his feet are facing out. Its still early enough that he should move around more and it shouldn’t be a problem. It seems I do have a little tumbler in there because he is constantly rotating his position   Otherwise baby looks great and everything is going really well with me. I have to do the Glucose test on the 21st. Yuck! More blood and I get to drink a nasty tasting liquid. Ah the joys of pregnancy.

On another note, It has been 9 months today that my mom has been gone. Its hard to imagine that so much time has passed and that so much is happening in my life.  What else can I say… I miss you mom.

Well, here is my adorable baby shower invite. My wonderful friend Natalie did a spectacular job picking it out. I know my mom would have loved it and she would be so excited to be a part of this day. I will enjoy it and celebrate because I know she would want that.