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.
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.
What a great weekend! Looking forward to next year's reunion.
More pregnancy progress to come!
