Anniversary and a Babymoon

On Thursday Santi and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. Because our actual anniversary was on a Thursday night, we decided to stay in and I made a special Ecuadorian dinner of churrasco with menestra...and I also tried my hand at the raspberry cheesecake cupcakes from Annie's Eats. I was surprised by how well both things turned out!

Delicious raspberry cheesecake cupcakes from Annie's Eats

An Ecuadorian meal...churrasco, menestra, rice, fried yucca, and salad...yum!

Santi came home with these beautiful flowers for me. 

After enjoying a wonderful anniversary, Santi convinced me (didn't take much) that we should go ahead and enjoy a mini-babymoon. We had originally planned a weekend in Sedona for our anniversary/babymoon, but my doctor said no more out of town trips. He found us a great last minute deal at an amazing resort in Scottsdale for the weekend, so we were able to enjoy a fantastic, relaxing weekend staycation! We spent the weekend soaking in the pool, getting some sun, and eating lots of yummy food. It was so relaxing and so wonderful to spend that time together as a couple before we welcome Luca into our family. I know once we are officially parents, our lives are going to be much different (in a good way) and our alone time as a couple is going to be very infrequent. It was a fantastic last getaway as just the two of us, but I think we spent the majority of the weekend talking about all the fun trips we wanted to take with Luca and how much fun it was going to be. I can't believe he is going to be here in about 4 weeks or less!

A beach belly picture...36 weeks!

Pool time!

Lounging at the resort listening to some great live music. 

One of 10 pools at our resort!

Next weekend I will be 37 weeks...which is considered "full term". That means Luca's arrival is just around the corner. 4 weeks or less!!!

Four Years

Four years ago today, Santi and I began our journey as husband and wife. Every part of our wedding day was absolutely perfect...and our marriage has been pretty much the same. Every day I still wake up thankful to see him beside me, and every day I love him more than I ever thought possible. God has truly blessed us in our marriage, and he made the perfect match. He truly brought two people together from different parts of the world, and our union was a part of His perfect plan.

A picture of the happiest day of our lives...so far.

Our Hawaiian honeymoon. It was such a beautiful trip and Santi has promised we could return to renew our vows for our 10 year anniversary. That means I have 6 more years to go!

And here we are four years later, about to welcome our first child, Luca Alberto, into this world. 

Life has thrown a lot at us in the last four years, but our faith in God and commitment to one another has gotten us through even some of the most difficult times, and we are so much stronger as a couple because of those trials and tribulations. From getting married, to moving across the country just weeks after our honeymoon to a place we had never even been before, to losing our first two pregnancies, to now awaiting this miracle child...God has been faithful! I look forward to the many years we will spend growing together in the future, now not only as a couple, but as parents. I started this blog shortly after our wedding and move to Arizona, and it is so special to look back on all of the memories we have shared. It's all there. Documented for the future. And I am so excited to see what new things I will have to blog about in the years to come!

And a Quick Baby Update

Santi came home from work yesterday with TONS of diapers! His coworkers are awesome! I think we are stocked for awhile now...

And for a bonus picture...yes, those are our hospital bags all packed and ready to go! Wow...is this really going to happen?

I have another doctor's appointment in about an hour, we will see what she says and see if I am any closer to bringing this blessing into the world.

I Am So Tired...

Who knew summer vacation could be so exhausting? Well, when you are 35+ weeks pregnant and not able to sleep...it is. I could probably fall asleep typing this. I know, I know, I am about to find out what sleep deprivation really feels like, but I thought I would be able to get lots of good rest before Luca arrives so I am ready for all of those sleepless nights. Not so much. My hips and back ache all night and I can't breathe. I spent one night sleeping in the recliner and it was wonderful, but poor Santi thinks he needs to follow me out to the living room and sleep. I have been trying to sleep in bed, but I am just not sleeping. I think it will be back to the recliner tonight. I feel like a zombie today.
Since I haven't been able to sleep, I have done some yummy cooking and baking, take a peek:

 My favorite yummy chocolate chip banana bread...mmmmmmmmm.

 Another weekly staple in our house. I love some spicy jambalya!!!

I believe I have posted my banana bread recipe before, so here is my very own jambalya recipe. This one I actually invented pretty much myself. I took several different jambalya recipes and tweeked them to my liking. We eat this at least once a week probably. It's soooooooooo yummy.
You will need:
1 tbsp. minced garlic
EVOO
1 green pepper finely chopped
about 2 celery stocks finely chopped
half of a white onion finely chopped
Jenni O smoked turkey sausage (you can also use chicken, shrimp, or a combination of the three) sliced diagonally
1 cup chicken broth
1 can petite diced tomatoes in their juice
cajun seasoning (to taste, depends how spicy you like it)
2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 and a half cups of white rice

1. Chop the onion and green pepper finely (I love my Slap Chop) and saute them in a large skillet until soft with a little EVOO and a tbsp. of minced garlic
2. Add the turkey sausage and let cook for a few minutes (it's already precooked, so just to brown it a little)
3. Add the can of tomatoes with their juice, the cup of chicken broth, the cup and a half of rice, the celery (finely chopped), the cajun seasoning, and the 2 to 3 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce.
4. Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 30-45 min (until rice is ready)

Enjoy!

35/35!!!!

35 weeks...35 days to go!!! I cannot believe how close we are to meeting little Luca. We are both so excited. I had another biophysical profile yesterday (I am having them twice a week now) and my fluid levels were up to 14! This is a big improvement and I am sure my doctor will be happy. I get to see her again on Wednesday. Luca is still a little peanut. He is weighing in at about 5lbs right now, and he is in the 25th percentile. He has been very active in the last 24 hours, and it is the best feeling in the world.
Now that I am out of school, having all this extra time on my hands makes the waiting really drag on. I have tried to keep myself busy by spending time at the pool with friends, cleaning, organizing, and next week I am going to go into school a few days and clean up my room a little.

And since it has been awhile...the pregnancy survey:

•How far along?: 35 weeks!

•Total weight gain: I don't know if I want to divulge this information anymore. Let's just say I think I surpassed the recommended weight gain...

•How big is baby?: The size of a honeydew!

•Maternity clothes?: I have reached the point where I am wearing mostly Santi's clothes around the house. And I hit the pool shamelessly in my bikini letting it all hang out:)

 
•Movement: He has been doing a lot more rolling and stretching now. It is clear that he is running out of space. 

•Stretch marks?: Yep...but not on my stomach. 

•Sleep?: Sadly I think I will be sleeping in the recliner for the next 5 weeks. I cannot get comfortable in bed anymore. I can't breathe, I have a pinched nerve in my back, and rolling over is torture. Poor Santi, he just follows me out to the living room...

•Symptoms?: Last night I woke up with serious nausea and heartburn...I hope that's not a sign of what the last 5 weeks will entail. 

•Food cravings: Vitamin Water lemonade, and because of my low fluids water, water, and more water. I also made some delicious brownies the other day. 

•Belly button in or out?: It's officially out.

•What I miss: Being able to sleep in my bed:(

•What I'm looking forward to: Luca's arrival of course! And our 4th anniversary is coming up next Thursday. Santi and I are planning a nice romantic date to The Tortilla Factory in Scottsdale and possibly a comedy club. We figure it will be our last big date night before we are parents! YIKES!!!!

•Best Moment this week: Chilling in the pool, and not having to get up early on Monday morning for work!

•Milestone:  Hmmmmm...I am two weeks away from full term! 35 weeks, 35 days to go!

•Nursery Progress: It's actually pretty much ready! We washed the clothes, blankets, and bedding last weekend. We just need to make the bed and finish organizing. 


I am going to *try* really hard over the next few weeks to do more blogging...I have been slacking lately. I am going to try some new recipes for my 101 in 1,001 so I will try to get some of those on here. I am also still tweeking the layout. I have had somewhat of a mental block lately as far as blogging is concerned.