Baby Boy and Baseball!

23 Weeks along and did I mention the Giants are kicking booty in the World Series!?! Or the World Serious and my nephew calls it!

*Note! I fixed the ultrasound video on my last blog so if you want to go back to the old blog and watch it, it should be running!

So everyone knows the stories of crazy pregnancy craving.  Sending husband to the store at 3 o’clock in the morning to pick up ice cream and pickles, but for me this has just not been the case…UNTIL LAST WEEK.  So I’ve blogged before about how I really enjoy grapes but it has never been to the point to where I’m going to cry if I don’t have any in the house.  Carlos has been waiting for the “real” cravings to kick in any minute knowing he is going to be at the grocery store in his pajamas in the middle of the night.  That part doesn’t bother him, however, his biggest fear has been, what will I crave? Well my friends we have figured that out. 

It all started with my wonderful cousin-in-law Jessica who is also pregnant and works in a bakery.  This cruel women sends me pictures of what decadent creation she has created that day, while I am teaching my wonderful 13 year-olds why its not ok to lick somebody’s face and stick paper to it.  So a few weeks ago she sends me a picture of these beautiful chocolate covered strawberries, now I am a fan of chocolate covered strawberries any day of the week but prego Megan is a whole different story.  I sent a text to Carlos telling him “I need chocolate covered strawberries”, not that I wanted them, that I NEED them.  This wonderful man ended up finding the one place in town that makes them and had them for me in the car when I go off of work! Brownie points for hubby!

But now the chocolate strawberries have gone to another level! Now I NEED chocolate covered strawberries with cannolis.  Now Carlos is good at finding where to get these random foods, but living in Delano cannolis is just not going to happen.  So my weekends have been spend baking these bad boys to hold me over until we go out of town and I can just buy one.  But here’s the deal.  Cannolis take a lot of time, oil, and frankly are just not that great for you, so I have come to a compromise.  Instead of frying the cannolis with the tube shapes like I normally would, I back them in to mini pie shells.  And since I have had a ton of people as me how to do this I am going to show you how its done.

First off, I normally make my own dough, but lets face it, it takes a lot of time and it is meant to be fried.  So here is what you do. Buy the Pillsbury pie crust (Papa’s best friend) and roll it out.  Sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar and use a cookie cutter to cut circles.

Place the circle in a cupcake pan and bake for 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. 

When you are done fill them with cannoli cream (now that I am not telling you how I make, you can find a recipe online).

These bad boys, with chocolate covered strawberries, are the only thing that I will get tears in my eyes if I can’t get.  Carlos is so happy that my craving is something delicious that he also enjoys.  

So now that I have expressed how strongly I feel about cannolis and strawberries here is a little baby update. The doctor says everything is looking great and we have a happy healthy boy.  Now that we know the gender the real fun has begun.  Carlos and I have started collecting superhero decorations for the room, and I have been knitting up a storm.  But the real addiction is onesies! My mom found these wonderful Batman and Superman onesies! The blue one with the Superman symbol is Carlos' favorite.

 Now I know that we are really into the superhero thing and Carlos is so proud collecting comics and planning costumes, but I have fallen in love with some of the more traditional little boy outfits.  For example I am head over heals for anything dinosaurs!

Now back to the "cool" kid stuff.  We have also collected our favorite sports teams onesies.

But my favorite thing so far has been his onesie that I will probably bring him home in because February is still pretty cold here.

So here is an update on the prego survey!!!

How far along? Today I am 23 weeks! Gettin Big!

Maternity Cloths? The two maternity work pants I bought are great, but I still haven't bought any tops.  Maybe in a few more weeks.

Stretch Marks? Belly is still stretch mark free! I'm worried I'm going to get that weird line that goes down the middle of your belly though.

Sleep: Baby is still pretending to be Bruce Lee all night long.  I knew I shouldn't have watch Way of the Dragon with the Palomos when it was on TV, but the Chuck Norris fight scene is classic!

Best moment this week: Carlos can finally feel him kicking! He used to feel him just kind of roll around but know they are already play fighting. Watching them is the best!

Have you told family and friends? Yes and everyone has been amazing! Thank you for all your love and support!

Missing Anything: Coffee.  I have tried to compromise with hot chocolate, but lets face it! Starbucks holiday drinks are calling my name!

Movement: Yes! All day and all night. This kid never sleeps!

Food Cravings: I think we can all answer this one.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The ovaphobia is back (fear of eggs).

Have you started to show yet? Oh yes! We had twin day at work and one of my coworkers dressed as me and stuffed his belly! It was great!

Gender: Beautiful baby BOY!!!

Symptoms: Back pain has been the biggest thing.

Labor Signs: No! Way to early for that

Belly Button in or out? In, but looking a little weird because of my old surgery scar

Wedding ring on or off? On!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am extremely happy and excited I just tend to get tired pretty fast these days.  

Looking forward to: Grandpa Ruben is building baby a toy box and Carlos is refinishing my families rocking chair.  I can't wait to see how those turn out.  

Words from Chuck: The cravings have been great! Every time she makes cannolis she makes me a pie. I like how I can feel baby Chuck kick and we play every morning! Go Giants!!!

The next blog should have some updates on the nursery! I can't wait to start putting it all together.  Auntie Bob Bob has been crafting ups a storm so maybe she will get a chance to come help out too! 

GO GIANTS!!! GAME 4 TONIGHT!!!!

Half Way There!!!

Hello everyone! I know it has been many moons since my last post, but we have had some major changes happen over the past month!

The first major update would have to be our new house!  We loved living in the condos but climbing those stairs everyday with a baby was not something we were looking forward to.  We didn’t think we would be able to move until July, after the baby was born, but a few things just happen to fall into place and we were able to move!  We love our new place, and it is going to be a great starter for our little family. 

Big news number two…WE KNOW THE GENDER!!! (Which I’m sure everyone knows already)

We knew as soon as we got pregnant we wanted to have a big gender reveal party.  We decided to go with a Lady or Gent theme.  It’s was super easy to plan because every idea I found online I was able to show Chuck and he made it (talented daddy)!

In this picture I am 18 weeks prego.

Voting Board 8 for Lady and 7 for Gent.

Carlos predicted the baby would be a girl and I predicted a boy.

To help everyone make their gender prediction I made an old wives tale board! This was a lot of fun.

Since Carlos wore Converse for our wedding and I wore TOMS we decided that is how we tell everyone.  If we pulled out a pair of black Converse it would be a boy and pink TOMS would mean it's a girl.

Close family was there to find out the gender of the baby, and my Nona helped me make a BIG Italian dinner for everyone.  Grandma Linda made a super yummy pineapple upside down cake that made everyone miserable.

One of the really fun favors Carlos made was the mustache and lips straws.  Everyone used the straw that matched their gender prediction.  Modeling for us here is the classy Tia Lexi.  

Then came time for the big reveal!  We asked cousin Sami if she would reveal the gender for everyone... Drum roll............

CHUCKS!!! We are having a beautiful baby BOY!!! Daddy and I couldn't be happier!  

To find out the Gender we went to a 3D/4D ultrasound in Bakersfield.  Thank you so much Tia Vero and Tio Nuno for the gift card! 

Introducing Charles Logan Palomo!

This was such a wonderful experience! We also received a DVD of the ultrasound which you can watch below if you like.  It is about 12 minutes.

So now we are up to date with the current news. 

How far along? Today I am 21 weeks! Over halfway there!!!

Maternity Cloths? I haven't bought any maternity shirts yet.  I have been using a belly band for all my work pants and jeans, but I found two pairs of maternity dress pants for work that I plan on trying when I go back to work next week (Wooo!!! October vacation!!!)

Stretch Marks? Belly is still stretch mark free! I'm trying my best to prevent them.

Sleep: Ok so here is a funny story! My belly isn't big enough to plop on a pregnancy pillow yet, but I manage to use an old squished pillow to try and get comfortable.  Now that Charlie is moving a lot,  if my belly falls off of the pillow at all he will turn himself to were he kicks at the mattress as fast as he can until I move! I tried moving on the other side and did this maybe six times to see if it was my imagination but nope he is a sensitive sleeper for sure.  As for me, I have a hard time getting comfortable and have many bathroom breaks throughout the night.  I guess I might as well get used to it because as soon as he is here it will be the same thing.

Best moment this week: Best moment this weeks was going with big cousin Sami to pick out baby's first Build-A-Bear!

Have you told family and friends? Yes and everyone has been amazing! Thank you for all your love and support!

Missing Anything: Coffee and Hotdogs.  Not together of course.  I still love the smell of coffee, but recently I really miss hotdogs.

Movement: Yes! It is so weird when he flips around.

Food Cravings: Today I really wanted anything chocolate.  Sam and I both ate a bag of Rolos!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I can finally eat chicken again! Now if I smell anything sour like an old sponge that makes me feel sick.

Have you started to show yet? Oh yes! My little Nieces and Nephews love pointing at my belly and talking about their little cousin.  Every time Rylie goes home she rubs my belly and says "Bye Baby Chuck!"

Gender: Beautiful baby BOY!!!

Symptoms: Today I had really bad back pain.  Carlos and I have been walking twice a day and that tends to help.

Labor Signs: No! Way to early for that

Belly Button in or out? In, but looking a little weird because of my old surgery scar

Wedding ring on or off? On!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am extremely happy and excited I just tend to get tired pretty fast these days.  

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery ready! We have already started collecting superhero stuff!  Carlos picked out a big batman action figure that is about the same size as Josiah.  He also has The Death Of Superman series framed for his room as well.  I plan on making his bedding to match the room.  Sam and I are currently designing a quilt, which we will have to make two of since she wants one to match :-)

Words from Chuck: I'm super excited and I can't wait for "The Kid" to be here! 

As I mentioned before we went with Sami to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and she picked out Chuck's first Build-a-Bear! Going with the superhero theme she decided he needed the First Avenger and named him Captain Abearica! We love this girl!

  Ok this is really cute!  My nephew Isaac has been watching me update the blog, and wasn't exactly sure how it worked.  I told him I was writing a story telling everyone about how the baby is doing and putting it on the internet for family.  He then asked me if he could write a story and take a picture for the baby and add it to the blog.  

Here is his story

Hello my name is Isaac Palomo and I am your big cousin.  I wrote this story for you.  One day when we found out about you we were excited, and I had a great feeling about this.  I felt you and me would have a great time playing with each other all day long.  I will let you play video games if you ever come to my house.  Josiah and me are fun and we can do a lot of things together.  We can play all day long.  You are going to be the second closest cousin.  I feel like you are going to be the coolest cousin ever! I hope that you can come to my school too.  I’ll try to make this story the best I can for you.  I bet you that if you ever find out you have a little cousin on the way you would write a story for him too.  I’ll try to be responsible for you. 

Now I am going to make up a cool story for you.

It all started in a big city called Deathcity.  There was a superhero named Charles Logan the strongest, coolest superhero around.  His powers were super strength, the ability to fly, and any other power you can think of.  One day there were some villains, they tried to kill guards to get a 60 feet high mountain of money! Before they even got it he popped out of nowhere and tied them up all around a ten thousand pound metal wall.  Charles Logan got all the money as a reward from the mayor of the city! And twice much more! Every time he left he flew off and disappeared. 

Written and Illustrated by Isaac Palomo

Hopefully I will be able to be more consistent with my blogging now that we have settled in.  Thank you everyone for all of your help with the move and being their to support us every step of the way.  We truly appreciate it!