Are those little flutters in my belly?

Since I was first pregnant I couldn't wait to feel those little flutters in my belly. I thought it would be the most amazing and sweetest thing. About two weeks ago, after eating a huge chocolate thunder dessert from outback, I felt a tiny flutter. It lasted about 1 second and then it was gone. Everyday I waited for that little flutter to come back, but to no avail. I started worrying that there was something wrong with the baby and that I needed to call the Dr. ASAP. It's funny though because as soon as I started panicking, I felt a few hard kicks. It was like the baby was trying to reassure me that everything was okay. It's amazing how, although we have never met, I can love something so much. I can't imagine when I actually meet Baby Senkarik, the love I will feel.

So the kicks are coming more and more. The only time I seem to feel them is when I am lying down on my back. They are getting stronger so I am guessing that I will start feeling them all the time soon. We have our 20 week appointment on Monday and we get to see the ultrasound. We haven't had one since 12 weeks, so it should be a huge difference. I am enjoying every moment of being pregnant. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I have been. I thought the impatient side of me would want it to be over, but I always feel like someone is with me, that I am never alone. I guess that is what my life will feel like from here on out. It's a miracle!



Here are some pictures of my growing belly and it keeps getting bigger and bigger!!

8 Weeks


14 weeks


18 weeks

Happy birthday Stephanie!!

Today is my best friend's birthday. We have survived 17 birthdays together and have seen almost every aspect of eachother's lives. So Steph here is a tribute to you:

The first time I met Steph was freshman year in Bonnie Bowman's class. I was a quiet girl from Hawaii who didn't know anyone and Steph was this huge presence who seemed to know everyone. We were different in every way possible. She had the coolest, curliest hair and mine hung straight. She threw together these awesome outfits and I was so simple. We were as different as anyone could imagine so who would've thought we would end up as best friends. I don't even think we did. But after a bonding session at a party, we would be forever friends. So to you my dear friend. I hope you have an amazing birthday because you deserve it. I have seen you grow from a confident teenager to an amazing mother. You are not only my best friend but you are my family. I love you and happy birthday!!!!!!!

Sigh of Relief

I feel like I can breathe again. Since I first found out I was pregnant 7 LONG weeks ago, I couldn't wait for that appointment when my doctor said "You are 99% in the clear now, only 1% of women over the first trimester have miscarriages". I felt an exhale from deep within. I tried to stay positive through the first trimester, but there were times when pains or cramps would set me back and I would start with the "What if" scenarios. So 7 weeks after finding out that there was a little bean inside my belly, I am finally out of my first trimester.

So I think I have had more ultrasounds than some women get their entire pregnancy. Last week, Ryan and I went in for a "routine" exam but when the Dr. couldn't hear the babies heartrate using the doppler he sent us to get an ultrasound. I was a litte nervous, but they had warned me that it is still pretty early to hear the heartrate on the doppler. So after waiting an agonizing 1 1/2 in the waiting room we were finally called in to get the ultrasound. Right away we saw the baby moving about, another sigh of relief ( I think I will just hold me breath for 9 months)! I couldn't believe how much bigger it was from the little cute 'teddy graham' at 8 weeks. It seemed gigantic although it is still only 2 inches! The first thing I said was "It looks like an alien". Sorry my sweet baby, but you did. (Picture to prove it) I think Ryan was a little nervous that our baby is going to comeout looking like E.T. because as soon as we got home he was on the internet googling images of 12 week old pregnancies. I think he started calming down when he saw that most resemble creatures that flew in from Roswell. I still think my baby is the cutest 12 week old baby in the world.

So tomorrow I go in again for yet another ultrasound, my fourth one in three months. I am starting to feel like Katie Holmes. We might as well just have one in our house! At the ultrasound last week they tried to get the measurement of the neck called the nuchal translucency screening. This screening is one of the first ones that test for Down Syndrome. So tomorrow while sitting in the waiting room I will be holding my breath again. I think they should just start handing out oxygen masks in the waiting room. For now, you can see my sweet baby. The best picture is the one of it's little foot. So perfect, so sweet. I can't wait to kiss those sweet toes!

The little foot. You have to look close. That is the bottom of the foot with the little toes.

Still the cutest thing I ever saw!

Big News!!!!

Our "Teddy Graham" at 8 weeks!!






I have heard from many of you that you were sick and tired of reading my "Good-bye to Summer" blog, but there is a reason why I haven't posted anything for the past month. The reason is.....

I am having a baby. Yes, my very own sweet, precious baby. It is surreal. I am already talking to the peapod everyday although I don't think the hearing has developed quite yet. It has been a pretty easy (knock on wood) first trimester. The only sickness I seem to be getting is evening sickness and that is only if I eat too much. I am incredibly tired though. In the mornings I am great and as the day wears on I seem to get more and more tired until about 8:30 and I am out. Everyone says to enjoy the sleep now, which I have to say is not my most favorite thing to hear!!
So how is daddy Ryan taking the news? He is ecstatic. I always knew he would be excited but nothing like this. He tells me everyday how he can't wait to be a daddy. We have a pregnancy journal that we read together every night. It's funny though because I think he expects the baby to be born and shortly after we will be taking the baby to play sports. I told him there is a lot of time before the baby is at that stage, but he doesn't seem to listen to me. I can't wait to see him as a daddy.

So I am almost entering my second trimester!! Tomorrow will be week 11. Amazing. Only 7 more months. I know the time will fly and I should be enjoying this time but I have to admit, I can't wait to hold that baby in my arms. My baby. Wow, what an amazing and generous God we have to share all these precious angels with us. I can't wait to meet my angel because I will give it all the love my heart can possibly share.

I will keep updating the blog now that the news it out. I would love to eventually show my pea pod all my thoughts that I have shared throughout my pregnancy so I just want to write something to my sweet angel...

I know we have yet to meet, but my heart is filled with so much love for someone I haven't laid eyes on yet. I feel like I know you because almost every minute of every day you are on my mind. How you are doing? If you are comfortable? What you look like? If you can hear me? I may not have laid eyes on you, but you are so loved by me and your daddy. We will spoil you with love and try to make your life as fulfilled as possible. You will make us a real family. A family I have always dreamt of, my own family. So my sweet angel, I want you to know how much your daddy and I wanted you and how much we talk about you. You have already touched our lives in so many ways and I know that the best is yet to come. I love you already more than words can say!

Goodbye to Summer

Wow, what a wonderful summer I had. From the beginning it was amazing, I really don't think I will have a summer like that again. As I said before, 30 is great! The end of the summer always makes me a little sad. Especially after a summer like this. I shouldn't complain because what other job can you still look forward to summer vacations? Once I am back into the swing of things, I get over my post summertime blues but it takes me a good two weeks. I just want to look back on my amazing summer.





It started out with my big 30th surprise party. It was absolutley amazing and a very big shock! The surprise party was followed closely by my b-day trip to San Francisco and Napa. If you have never been to Napa, put it on your list. Amazing!! I have never been to Tuscany, but I can imagine this is what it looks like. Vineyards that seem to go on forever, sunsets to die for, little boutique hotels that have been around forever, and delicious wines. San Francisco was also incredible. I had no idea that it would be as beautiful as it was. I remember sitting at the top of the hotel, looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean thinking what could be better than this? Unforgettable.







I also got to spend the summer with my family. It is so hard for me to be far away from my family and it was wonderful that I had them with me the whole time. My husband is also amazing because he truly enjoys when they come and invade our tiny home. I feel so blessed.








It was also a summer of babies and there was some cute babies born! One special baby born was gorgeous Skye. It was the first time for me to be in hospital, so anxious to know if Steph and Joe were having a boy or a girl. When she told us it was a girl, that was incredible moment. What an angel!










The summer ended with my trip to England. Seeing my sister, Sophie, Matthew, and Jason was great. I fell absolutely in love with Matthew and even more in love with Sophie. They are such wonderful babies and it was such a great experience.











In between all of that excitement and vacations were the small moments. Lunch with friends, hanging out with family, dinner dates with my husband, having time to read books.



So goodbye to summer. I will see you next year. Who knows what this year may hold for me. I do know that a summer like this doesn't come around often and I feel blessed that I got to have the experiences that I did.

Long Overdue

Okay, this post is long overdue. I think that it was hard for me to put into words my trip to England and coming back home. I did get very homesick and was ready to come back home, yet I was very sad to leave my family back in England. The worst part was the day I left, my niece wrapped her body around my legs so I couldn't leave. It was pretty emotional. Thank-you Lisa and Jason for having two amazing, beautiful children. I am blessed to have Sophie and Matthew as my niece and nephew. Now we just need to get you guys to move here so I can spoil the heck out of them!

Being in England did make me appreciate a lot about home. I think it is always good to go away a little bit because there is no feeling better than coming home. These are the things I missed while I was gone:

1. My husband

2. The girly days

3. My king size bed (slept with my sister in a double bed while I was in England)

4. My cat

5. My in-laws (yes, I am very fortunate to have great in-laws)

6. Being able to drive on the right side

7. All my friends babies

8. Air conditioning

9. Modern conviences (dryer, dishwasher, showers, etc)

10. City living (compared to where I was, Naples is NYC)

Things I will about England:

1. My sister

2. My niece and nephew

3. Jason (sorry, you are number 3)

4. The best grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches (I am hooked)

5. Afternoon tea

6. My daily walks in the forest

7. The unbelievable views

8. Being with my family

9. My evening drink in the pub

10. Again, my family!!! (That warrants two spots on the list)

Here are some more pics that I haven't shared yet. Cheers.

Mom and I after lunch.

The outside of my sisters pub.

Please forgive the weird noises I have to make to make him laugh. Anything for a smile!

Another amazing view of Wales. This was at the dams near my sisters house.

Mom and I after seeing the 'Jersey Boys' in London.

Mom and I in front of London Bridge.

Sophie and I laughing at the wind blowing us around.

There's Big Ben kids.

Grilled Cheese and afternoon tea

All I eat when I am in England are grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. I think that I am a little afraid of everything else. I don't eat meat so that rules out about 3/4 of the menu and the other portion I can't decipher, except for toasted grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. These are the American version of grilled cheese except cheesier and yummier!!! Another thing the English have right is afternoon tea. Why is it in America we have the mega-coffee giants that burn their coffee beans to make it taste bitter yet we will spend $4.00 easily on one of these burnt specialties? I do love a nice cuppa (the English term for teat) in the afternoon. Every few stores, there is another tea store. Starbucks is a thing that hasn't really caught on in these small towns and it is oddly refreshing.

Well this week we have been a little more adventurous. Ashley, my mom, and I decided we would go on a journey to North Wales, which is about 2.5 hours away from my sister. Jason was kind enough to let us borrow his GPS system so we programmed it and were set to kick back and enjoy the ride. This GPS system must be wanting to play tricks on us because it was not taking us on the main highways, which of course would be the most logical, instead it was trying to take us on these farm roads. When I say farmroads, you have to picture driving down a road the size of a parking lot space. I am not kidding. It was that big. It is a farm road so there are many tractors that speed down it and if you come head to head with one of these tractors, you a goner. So my mom was driving about 8 mph (a little on the fast side), and we traveled about 10 miles in 45 minutes. After realizing we were going no where fast we decided to buy a map. You can't beat the old fashion devices! We ended up the right track and had the most beautiful journey. The ocean was in the distance and we were driving through the lush, green mountains. I felt like someone should be playing bagpipes in the car to set the perfect mood.

Even though the grilled cheese is fabulous and tea is wonderful, I am a little homesick. I am trying to soak up all I an of my gorgeous niece and nephew because I am not sure when I will see them again. I have tried to take more pictures this week. Miss you all!

The farm road we traveled on for more than 45 minutes. This is supposed to fit two cars!!!

The drive up to North Wales. Unbelievable!

More of Wales

A river runs through it. This river ran right through the little town we were staying in.

Is this the next David Beckham or Tony Romo?

Are you kidding me with this face?

Sophie wanted in on the action.

Sophie smelling the flowers.

Posing with the scarecrows at the Victorian festival.

Happy at the pub.

Posting from Jolly Ol' England

I finally have contact with the outside world (sort of). My sister finally has her computer up and running, so I can post some pictures of my vacation so far. It has been amazing seeing my sister, my niece, and nephew but I can't believe how much work it is to run a pub. When we got here, after spending one night in London, Lisa was running around like crazy. They hardly have a minute free. We finally got Lisa to leave the pub today for some girl time. Who knows when the last time she got a chance to do that.

The country side is absolutely beautiful. It is undescribable. I have tried to take pictures of it but delete them right after because they don't do it justice. We finally rented a car today so we can get out and see more of the country side. We are planning a trip to Bath and to Wales. Here are some of my pictures from my trip. I will get more pictures of Sophie and the country side to post.

Trying to get the babies to pose for the picture. At least Jason and I are looking at the camera.

A pub we went to eat at in London. The flowers were amazing!

Ashley and I in Lisa's pub. It was packed that night. There is only about 500 people in the town they live and I think half of them were at the pub that night.

Baby Matthew, he is absolutely adorable and the sweetest thing. All he does is smile. Love him

Lisa and I eating lunch in town.

Jason behind the bar. Didn't know we were takin the picture hence the look on his face.

Lisa and Matthew. He is truly a Lewis baby, with the big lips and big cheeks.

The Holiday to Great Britain

I am heading to England tomorrow; to the fields of sheep, the land of Guiness, and the birthplace of Hugh Grant, and the home of bad teeth. I love how my friend Kelle describes my England trip. She tells me that she envisions that I am Cameron Diaz in the movie "The Holiday" where I am in the middle of no where with only sheeps and pubs around me. That pretty much is spot on (learning to speak like a Brit).


You see, on my Holiday, I will be spending it with my sister, her fiance, and my niece and nephew (to see how cute they are, see previous post). It's funny whenever I tell someone I am heading to England they envision London and all the wonderful sightseeing. Yes, I will be spending a few days in London, but most of the time will be spent in the farmlands outside of Wales. My sister owns a pub and they live upstairs from the pub, very convenient! This pub is located in the remote area of Herefordshire. I decided to see just how remote this place is so I logged on to Google Earth to get a better idea. God Bless Google Earth!! So I put in the address and it flew me there. Can anyone say "Big Brother"? It really is amazing and kind of creepy. As it was getting closer to their town there was nothing except big square patches of green. I am not kidding!! In the middle of all these square patches laid a pub. But in that pub there lays my beautiful neice, my adorable nephew, and my wonderful sister. So as much as I may be Cameron Diaz from the "Holiday" ( although I already have my Jude Law), I will be relishing in the joy of being with my family. I will chalk one up for experience.

I will try to post when I am out there but if I don't get a chance, I will be back on August 1 and ready to see what has been happening over here in the good ol' USA. Miss you all!

Pictures of Skye

Here are some adorable pictures of Skye Rose Conforti and I think I figured out how to add videos!

Skye Rose is born today!

An amazing, beautiful baby was born today. Her name is Skye Rose Conforti. I can not believe how much I miss her after being away from her for 2 hours! What an amazing God we have to give us these angels from heaven. I ran into a OBGYN on one of my most recent shopping trips and he told me when a baby is born it is the closest you will ever get to God in your living life. And today that proved true. These are my words to the sweet Skye.

Tonight I hope you sleep peaceful and don't have any scary dreams.

I hope as you grow up you know how much your mommy and daddy wanted you and love you.

I hope you know that as soon as your daddy saw you his heart turned to mush.

I hope you get your mommy's spirit and drive.

I hope you know how many people texted your Auntie Sammy the day you were born to find out anything about you.

I already love so many things about you:

I love how your bottom lip quivers when the nurse puts the cold stethoscope on your chest.

I love how analytical you are already.

I love your beautiful dark hair.

I love you sweet blue eyes.

I love your dimple in your chin.

I love your soft skin.

You are an amazing gift to this world and I want you always to realize that.

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

30 and Loving It!

My mom told me when she turned 30, she laid on the couch and cried all day long. I think I had this image in my head as my 30th birthday approached. That morning I woke up expecting some life altering change. I went to the mirror and stared at my face, looking for any signs of wrinkles. Do you just wake up one day and suddenly have a face full of wrinkles? I sure in the heck hope not! Anyway, after studying my face and feeling somewhat satisfied that the small lines I did see were there the day before, I waited for the realization that 'I am 30' to set in. It never did. I had a great birthday. Actually this part of my life seems more than great. I have great friends, a great husband, a wonderful family, and a good job. What is there to be upset about?

I sat around at my friend Kelly's house today for our weekly lunch and was so content. What an exciting time in our lives. Your thirties is a time to start feeling more secure with yourself. I remember turning 21 like it was yesterday. It was the summer before my senior year and we rented a party bus that took us around to all the different bars. At the time it was a blast, but my life at that point was filled with uncertainty. What am I going to do after I graduate? Do you I really want to be a business major (obviously not)? How am I going to pay for my next drink (definintly the hardest question of all)? It was so much fun ,but I wasn't secure in my life.

Weddings, babies, birthdays, and milestones. These are all the wonderful things that go on around me everyday. I finally feel secure with myself and with my life. So here I am 30 and loving it.



Ryan and I at Maribeth's wedding.

My brother in law, his wonderful girlfriend Theresa, Ryan, and I at Maribeth's wedding.

Just needed a little inspiration...

When I started my blog I vowed to write in it every other day. Well, as you can see that hasn't happened. I needed a little inspiration on what to write. Of course when I have kids it will be so exciting to post the pictures on my blog. I will always feel inspired. So yesterday as I was going through my morning routine of checking my emails, I became inspired. My brother in law sent me new pics of my beautiful niece and adorable nephew. I have yet to meet my nephew, Matthew. It's amazing how you can love someone so much without even meeting them. As I said in an earlier post, I will be going out to England to see these beautiful babies. My sister lives just outside of Wales in a farming community. The closest store is 15 miles away!!!!!! Oh well, at least I will save some money. My sister and brother in law do own a pub though and even better, they live upstairs from the pub. I would take the pub over the mall any day of the week. Here are some beautiful pictures for you to enjoy....

Sophie making a very funny and cute face!

Sophie making sure her brother knows who is number 1!



I want to squeeze those cheeks!

Who is that snuggle bunny?

Not sure if this is Sophie at my wedding or if she just likes to put on the dress and relive the day.