thursday was grace’s last day of school! we headed up north to go pick her up and have her for a long weekend.
as we were on our way to leave, i was totally craving a cronut. so much so, i told hubby charming that we needed to go to nyc to get one! um, he said no. boo.
so, i suggested the doughnut vault…we were stressed for time, so i was told no again [insert sad face}. well, the closest doughnut establishment to us and en route was dunkin’ donuts…hey, it’s better than nothing! especially for this pregger lady who wanted to eat doughnuts! so it is. my first doughnut craving. i was a happy gal.
[nellie not so happy she had to take the back seat while we eat donuts]
[yum!]
[i plowed through them and so did hc]
[haha, trying to be a safe driver and pose for me!]
although i’m still on a mission to get my cronuts {trust me, i’ve already checked if they will next day ship…negative}!!!! hehehe. cronut new york, here i come!
weight gain: 6 lbs + {official reporting will happen when i go to the doctor’s for my 16 week check up}
maternity clothes? not yet! although, just checking out the maternity wear is no fun. i’ve never really fit women’s sizes so, it’s hard to find anything that fits. good thing my leggings fit great and i can graduate into dresses for this summer!
sleep: pretty good. the getting up in the middle of the night is very rare but when it happens, it takes me a good hour to fall asleep, if i’m lucky!
physical state: feeling great! less tired and less crazy, possessed hungry {i was a hungry monster!}! the bleeding gums is unpleasant..ugh. i tend to cry a lot more {hehe}, commercials and sad parts in movies just make the the tears spill from my eyeballs. oh, and the headaches {grrrrr}! blah…my head pounds all day on some days and i never had them before!
miss anything? my starbucks americanos. aleve…never, ever really took it before but those headaches are annoying, so therefore i miss it. the usual, like sushi and all sorts of seafood. i ate a lot of it before and really miss it now.
baby movement: not yet!
food cravings: still a lot of fruits and fruity things. i love lime jell-o and del monte red grapefruit cups! yum! i devour blueberries and strawberries as snacks. i still love spicy, hot anything. like flaming hot cheetos and pounds of hot sauce in all my soups! the baby will be a kickin’!
bump status: the bigness of the bump seems the same. i felt like i bumped out big time right away but then it’s been the same for weeks???
gender reveal: not yet! so far, it’s mostly a girl vote. i get a few boys scattered in here or there but mainly bows versus beaus!
we also get a pet for a week! ms. nellie. how cute is she?! i’m excited for some quality time with hc. having some delicious meals together. going on lovely walks together in this warm weather. chilling. snuggling. doing nothing. spending time together. period.
hc is loving our new waffle maker {thanks dave + carrie!}. waffles, hashbrowns, grilled cheese sammies, oh my! we are loving this new device!
weight gain: 6 lbs. {i thought i was going to double from the last appointment…phew!!!}
maternity clothes? not yet! pants really don’t fit, around my waist that is…haven’t gotten the belly band yet, so my kid sized legging still work, as long as i roll it down! whoop!
sleep: getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom has actually lessened {yeah!}. getting a full night’s sleep has gotten much better.
physical state: a little bit more energized! i’m less nauseated and tired. my early bedtime still exists but at a more reasonable time than 8 or 9 pm! 10 pm is not bad, right?! the acne, oh the acne! my face is just covered in cysts, whiteheads, and pimples…gross. ewww, really gross. and what’s up with the hot hands and feet?! blech.
miss anything? i still miss my starbucks americanos, sushi {i miss you white dragon roll from coast!}, bagel & lox, deli meat sandwiches, not so much alcohol since i never really drank anyways! oh, and my eggs over easy {boohoo}, i love my eggs over easy.
baby movement: not yet!
food cravings: fruit {cherries, blueberries, mango, red grapefruit by the pound}, ice pops, cereal, hot spicy foods, cheddar cheese sticks. i’m in love with pop. i never drank the stuff before but i love it now! so, i buy diet so i don’t go nuts drinking the stuff all the time. the crazy part, i really don’t eat sweets!! i might have a nibble once in a blue moon but that’s it!
bump status: i feel i’ve got a full, blown bump. i mean, c’mon…i’m only 12 weeks but that thing is already massive?! i keep asking my pregnant and past pregnant friends…is this normal?!
gender reveal: not yet! majority of folks says it’s a girl! like i said, i’m taking tallies. we’ll see…
well here it goes!!! the pregnancy journey begins…
[the shocking surprise…the omg stick]
[my first cup o decaffeinated joe, way back in march // bongo room // hubby charming came home the same day i found out! yay! we enjoyed a lovely day together in awe!]
i was so apprehensive of the first few months!! i was a bit afraid. i only imagined nausea, sickness, vomiting, tiredness, crazy eating…almost all of it’s true! i thought to myself, how will i hide this from people i know and how will i, especially, hide it from my co-workers?!?! peeps that see me more than anyone else in my life!
well it was tough. any pregnancy symptom i read in my book, yup, i got it. it started with the crazy, i mean acid taking {fact: have never tried acid but i assume that is what it is like when dreaming in pregnancy state}, crazy dreams! i never remember my dreams but, oh boy, now i do!
then {not for the weak here and it might be tmi}, the headaches {um, i don’t get headaches…yes, it’s true} and the spotting that you get when the egg actually implants onto to your uterus. yeaaaahhhh, i remember that. i actually thought it was that time of the month. not the other way around {hello!}.
you eventually transform into the hungry monster. i mean, you seriously need to eat every two hours like it’s going out of style. the hunger pangs and nausea are volatile. that was the hardest part. you. want. everything. all i wanted every morning was a mcdonald’s breakfast sandwich, hash brown, and orange juice. it was my favorite thing to eat for many a mornings {ooooh, not good on the hips}.
the nausea that plagued me night and day. that was absolutely no bueno. it was especially dominant at night. come 5 pm, it was spinny central. barf. it was then compounded by mad hunger, fabulous combo, non?!
ohhhh, the tiredness. oh em gee. it feels like you’ve been hit by a mack truck by 7pm! the night owl in me just vanished! *poof* staying up past 10? uh uh. no way. i needed toothpicks to hold up my eyelids that felt like cement. that was tough. i think the last time i went to bed before 10 was waaayyy back in elementary school.
aannnddd…the smells! ugh, everything was intense. that triggered the nausea {i know i’m selling this pregnancy, huh? my description will make any women without children totally want to get pregnant 😉 perfumes, food, b.o., anything…the nose filtered it like it was a potent, concentrated fume flowing up my nasal passage.
the one and only thing i didn’t get was the vomiting! score one for meeee! yes, thank goodness! i will take everything else but please, please no vomiting!
as i neared the 12 week mark, all the symptoms have slowly dissipated! not gone completely but definitely not as intense as they were before! woo! thank goodness!
honestly, this is an amazing experience despite all of the above. it’s a teeny sacrifice to what is to come, a beautiful little baby. i feel so blessed. we are very thankful. this has been a very exciting and happy time for us! yay!!!
mother’s day has come and gone, and we seriously had the best time ever!
our mother’s day gifts were little onesie! Signifying for them that they were going to soon have a new grandchild addition to the family!
the day before, i went to the t-shirt deli {in bucktown} to have personalized onesies made for each set of grandparents! one set in vietnamese {for my parent’s…duh!} and the one set in english. it truly turned out adorbs!
[t-shirt deli goods]
on mother’s day morning, we set out to attend the 9:30 mass. it was a beautiful service and a beautiful day!
we headed up north, to argyle, to meet my family at hai yen restaurant for lunch {it was also my lovely mother’s birthday!}. after much comical bickering over the menu, we finally decided on our entrees {phew}!
so, after getting our order in, it was the right time to have my mom open up her gift {really it’s, obviously, for both of them!}. my mom was struggling, more confused by the gift itself. therefore, my dad started helping her but he was fumbling a bit as well, so i intervened and ripped open the package {notice the lack of patience on my part!}. my dad picked up the onesie and knew right away what it was. he finally showed my mom and she freaked out! they were so happy! my dad’s face, who shows little emotion, lit up and turned red from excitement! my mom teared up and both of them gave us hugs. everyone was so excited! another addition to our family!
[hmm, what’s this?]
[i love the looks on their faces!]
[little vietnamese onesie]
[my daddy]
[bun rieu]
[auntie kim]
after lunch, we walked the streets and went shopping. my mom went to town at the local vietnamese market. r really wanted a lucky cat. b begged for a broom. it was cute! we sashayed our way over ba le to pick up some banh mi’s {vietnamese sandwiches…i love them!}. we bought little treats, drinks, delicious macarons…so many yummy tidbits!
[having fun in front of the frozen fish at the market]
[r relaxing on his mini chair and stool]
[the cuties and their momma]
after shopping, we headed to the garden center in andersonville. we perused the gorgeous flowers and plants. shopped the knick knacks inside their little shop and had the kids play around the garden furniture and outdoor fountains.
we finally retired and headed back to our apartment to get some stuff done before we went on our next journey, to missy’s house for a mother’s day dinner with the heintz’s.
at missy’s we rested and relaxed as john prepared our dinner from the grill. it was time to eat {i couldn’t wait until we opened presents!}; burgers, fries, and a yummy salad {prepared by missy}.
[cute packaging]
after our meal, dessert was served {cheesecake – so delish, fruit cobbler, and cookies} and it was time to open presents! i was so excited. missy opened a few of hers, jane gave us each a gift, and it was time for her to open our gift. john was really digging the packaging {it’s a doggie bag…how could you not love it?!}. so, i prepped the gift {explaining what the t-shirt deli is about} and as she opened it, she looked over all the details {inside, i was shouting “open the wrapped package!!”}. she finally got to the package, she opened it up and started screaming! she said, “you are pregnant!”. i was then attacked with hugs! it was so awesome! such a great moment! of course she cried!
[action shots // precious!]
[showing off the onesie]
[happy family]
lots o’ hugs given all around, lots of tears of joy, and lots of very happy people around us. all in all, it was a pretty awesome mother’s day/mom’s birthday! yay!
yes, it is true! we are pregnant {wow!}! i am currently a smidge over 3 months! we are so excited for this growing, little baby inside of me!
baby heintz is arriving in november! just in time for thanksgiving!
i still can’t believe this is happening. it’s planned but unplanned…ya know what i mean?! what a whirlwind it’s been and it will continue to be one! we have been bursting at the seams to tell everyone and finally, the cat is out of the bag!
is it a boy? is it a girl? all we want is a healthy baby…then maybe we can debate the gender {i’m taking tallies!}!
we are so joyous and feel so blessed to be on this wonderful journey. we are very thankful and thankful for the overwhelming love and support from our friends and family!
our one year anniversary photos are featured in utterly engaged magazine {page 82}! how exciting!!!!
it’s a feature called he said/she said! the editor of the magazine asked us to answer the questions separately, honestly, and privately to really have some fun around comparing answers! we did, i promise! no cheating on our replies!
it’s so much fun to read our individual answers. i’m quite succinct and hubby charming was very verbose! it makes me smile to read our responses and feel the connection through our words. of course, jen huang did an amazing job capturing our love through the photos we took in central park this past fall. i’m so happy with how they designed the spread and so ecstatic to share our story with the world!
[photos by jen huang]
i hope this happy article helps brighten your day!
on this beautiful tax day, many years ago, my lovely hc was born! yay! one of the best days in the history of the earth.
happy day to my hc who is my best friend, my confidant, my ultimate love. he is the most caring, patient, loving, most understanding human being alive. we are like ying and yang. a match made in heaven.
i love him to bits and i am so lucky to have found him…or did he find me? or did technology find us?!
anyhoo, happy birthday to the most loving husband alive. you. are. simply. the. best. muwah!!!!
