Creative Update

Bella Rose Hairbows

Over the summer I had some great sales on my hairbows and headbands that are on display for sale at Rustic Ruby, a shop in Downtown Acworth. I wasn't working on my bows for a couple of  months because I wasn't feeling well in my 1st trimester, but I made some on occasion to be sure I had 4th of July themed bows and headbands and now I've picked back up on my momentum (cause I'm feeling much better) and I produced several more bows with more to come for the fall and Halloween season!

My best friend offered her wonderful photography talent and we had a mini "little girls and hairbows" photoshoot to print out and display along with my bows in the shop. Just look how ADORABLE these are!

 

 

Graphic Design 

[Kennesaw State University Summer Magazine]

This year, I had the privilege to design the summer issue that featured FOOTBALL as the main story, just before our first EVER season started. The design was well received and I am happy to add this to my portfolio.. not only as a designer, but as an alum :) Below are a few of my favorite spreads.

Click here to view the entire magazine.

Gate-fold timeline of how football progress happened over the years

  

[Dr. Betty L. Siegel Student Recreation and Activities Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony]

I was pretty excited to be assigned to this project. Dr. Siegel was the former president of KSU (while I was attending college) and this new recreation center was being named after her. Her personality and iconic red glasses are what really defines who she is so I decided to use that as an element and just "ran" with it! I designed the invitation, photo display backdrop, program and graphics for the wooden coasters. The designs came out great and were very well received!

BANEScreative custom cakes

For the 3rd year in a row, we were asked to design a birthday cake for a set of twins to celebrate their 3rd birthday. The client wanted a candy themed design.

Disney's "Cinderella" themed simple rose cake

Feelin GOOD!

Weeks 17-21

The past few weeks have been exciting! With my growing belly getting bigger by the day, I am finally feeling the glow of pregnancy! I have been able to come off my nausea meds completely AND rarely have to take medicine for indigesion/hearburn (but half expect that may return in my final trimester). I started to feel Lucas' "flutter" sensations around week 17 and then those "flutters" became soft pokes by week 19 that are now palpable from the outside of my belly. I haven't been able to catch him kick quick enough to have Bella feel him, but sooner or later his kicks will be more often and more noticeable  where she will be able to actually feel her brother.

It was exciting to see Lucas at my 20 week ultrasound appointment - Bella and Louie were able to sit in on the appointment and see him as well. He was in a strange position (face down) so the technician couldn't check the other 2 chambers of his heart, but at this point he is developing very well. He weighs around 11 oz, has a heart rate of 135 bpm, and his bones and organs look well. Bella was very excited to show off the photos of her brother! My next appointment in 4 weeks will give me another opportunity to see Lucas as the doctor wants to try to see the 2 chambers of his heart that were not visible at my last appointment because he wouldn't move from his face down position.

Our Little Kindergartener

Bella started Kindergarten at the beginning of the month and she really did well adjusting to going to a "big girl" school and riding the bus for the first time. Louie and I met her teacher, Ms. Beck and she has told us that she already adores Bella and that Bella is a great listener and participant in class. Our hearts swell with pride! 

I have been kept busy with my duties as VP of PTA for Bella's school. Luckily the president is my neighbor and best friend, I'm not sure I could handle the responsibilities if it wasn't for all of her great efforts and the efforts of the other 2 members of our team. We have already kicked off our biggest fundraiser for the year as well as had our first spirit night at Stevie B's!

Louie's Birthday

We celebrated Louie's birthday with a family dinner at home - his mama's sauce recipe was requested so we dinned on spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and of course oreo birthday cake! It was a nice evening and Louie really enjoyed the gift we all went in on to get him - a John Smoltz official Braves jersey and matching ball cap!

and I'll go ahead and end this post with another pregnancy progress photo!

Goodbye 1st Trimester, Hello 2nd Trimester!

Weeks 12-14

Now that we know our baby is a boy we also have settled on his name! 

I fell in love with the first name "Lucas" not only because it sounded so nice, but I really like the meaning behind the name. Lucas is a form of Luke or Lucius, meaning "light-giving" or "illumination". The middle name "Parker" comes from one of Louie's all-time favorite super hero's, Spiderman aka "Peter Parker". We put the two together and really like the way they fit along with his last name. Louie is so excited about his little boy, as am I. As you can see, I've also been finding some cute boy clothes that I can't wait to get for him.

We received exciting news about a new baby cousin that was born the same day we had our gender reveal party; my 1st cousin, Martina Cox gave birth to a little girl, Gabriella Rose and she is as cute as can be! We will soon be getting a visit from them as they will be traveling to GA for a family reunion at the end of this month.

During this week I was still battling nausea and had experienced an increase in indigestion and heartburn, I had to finally figure out what I could take since TUMS just wasn't cutting it anymore. I now take a regiment of zantac 150 daily to keep the unpleasant feeling at bay and am continuing to take my daily dose of diclegis for the nausea. I hoped the nausea would subside in the coming weeks.

I also experienced crazy salty/sour food cravings; for the most part its healthy food. I was on a kick with cucumbers for a while - marinating them in white wine vinegar. I also found that a salad with olive oil and vinegar mixed with olives, sunflower seeds, carrots and croutons better than CHOCOLATE! The notion that pregnancy cravings have a connection to some deficiency in diet seems to be accurate, veggies are on my mind all the time! 

Fourth of July

We celebrated the holiday with family and lots of excellent food (of course!). Uncle Joe was in town for the holiday and came over with Uncle Alan, Nonnie and Walter for dinner. Louie tried his hand at ribs and was wonderfully successful! I paired the ribs with some homemade macaroni and cheese and some corn on the cob and it was all a hit! We ended the day with lots of leftover ice cream and front yard fireworks!

2nd Trimester

I have officially crossed into the second phase of my pregnancy and I am welcoming the hopeful decrease in nausea and increase in energy! A growing bump as well as little baby kicks are very exciting!

Weeks 14-16

Last week I felt that slight flutter in my belly... it occurs every now and again, but I am looking forward to feeling the actual kicks very soon. My sonogram has been scheduled for the second week of next month! I'm so excited to bring Bella to see her little brother. 

Family Reunion 

Last year it was decided that this year's annual cousin reunion would be held in GEORGIA! We were extremely thrilled as this would be the first time my side of the family would be given the opportunity to host. When the decision was made by my parents to move to FL, my sister and I were passed the baton to handle the planning of the reunion with the experienced help of our Uncle Alan who now lives in GA. I found a great venue in downtown acworth (Acworth Beach) that would be air conditioned, since I knew we'd be in the heat of the GA summer weather, and best accommodate our group with ease. We scouted out the beach house and got a thumbs up from our family to go ahead and reserve the location for July 25th. I sent out invites to all the Trovato family and got a good return on RSVPs. Sadly, a portion of our family was not able to make the reunion due to the recent death and loss of a beloved family member, and the illness of another. They were all greatly missed and we hope to see them all at next year's reunion.

As the week of the reunion finally rolled around, us Georgian relatives anxiously awaited the arrival of family members from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. We made sure to squeeze in a get together every day, starting with a pizza night gathering the evening before the reunion. We finally got to meet my cousin Tom and Beth's children, Jared and Elyse - it was really fun to see how Bella and Elyse became instant friends.

Early morning Saturday, Bella had the opportunity to spend some quality time with her new cousin, Gabriella. She loved to hold and talk to her. I watched as Bella interacted with the baby, and I couldn't help but think just how awesome Bella will be with her baby brother in the near future :)

The day of the reunion ended up being hot, but beautifully sunny. We arrived around 10 am to setup the beach house and then spent the whole day visiting with each other, eating, and playing games. Traditionally we enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs along with pasta, sauce, and ribs ... leave it to us Italians to bring pasta to a BBQ! 

We usually play several rounds of bocee, but a new game took its place this year as it was too incredibly hot to play bocee under the sun. Louie's new corn hole set was the game of the day! All joined in to take a turn to play, young and old!

The newest member of the family, Gabriella Rose, got LOTS of attention and love by all, even the kiddos.

Before the day was over we got a few group family photos in and the background scenery really added to the pictures. 

What a great weekend! Looking forward to next year's reunion.

More pregnancy progress to come!