Beautiful Baby Shower!!!

31 weeks!

Wow! is all I can say about my Baby Shower. Mom and Carly out did themselves!! It was a beautiful day with lots of friends and family. Mom did a Tea Party theme. It turned out really cute! She also did yummy finger sandwiches, petite fours, cupcakes and so much more!! My cousin Amy surprised us and also made the trip from Canada!!It was SO great to see her! We were very blessed with many wonderful gifts. Thank you! Thank you! To everyone who came and sent gifts. You have given Bella a great start for when she enters this world! I had a Doctors appointment yesterday. She is measuring 4lbs 6oz! She is in the 43rd percentile. I was wondering if she was big since my bellly has gotten so big. But no, thank goodness she is just a little girl. She has lots of hair!!I didn't have any hair when I was born so she is taking after Junior! I can't wait to see what color it is and if it is curly or straight! We tried to see her face but she was hiding. We saw her lips and nostrils! Her lips looked like Juniors!!

The Tables were shades of Pink!

Mom hung a clothes line with all of mine and Carlys old baby clothes!

Tea cup center pieces

Diaper cake Mom made and banner she made.

So many beautiful homemade touches!

Andy built Bella the Dollhouse Bookcase!! I love it!

Custom knit bonnet and sweaters from my Grandma!

Forever Friends. Thanks for all your love and support girls!

Wow, you have two more months! Is it a boy?!

Since I am so short my belly has really popped out recently! These are strangers favorite comments to me for the past few weeks! Or... oh, are you having a Christmas Baby?  It can get a little annoying and makes me feel bad sometimes. I asked my mom and a few friends am I really that huge?? It seems like every check out lady has to make a comment to me. Cathie told me just wait until after you have the baby and someone asks you when you are due! ha,ha. Just gotta love it! People love to talk to pregnant ladies. 

I went to the Doctor on Wednesday. No ultrasound this time. He checked Bella's Heartbeat and said it was nice and steady. She is measuring right on track! I told him the comments I have been getting and asked if my belly is to big. He smiled at me and said no it just looks bigger because I am so short. Not to worry that I will get plenty more comments. All my vitals looked good. I have gained 17 pounds so far. He said I can gain up to 10 more pounds. Trying to stay away from the chocolate! It is hard!! The Holidays don't help. I am 30 weeks today! 10 more weeks to go! I get an Ultrasound on the 17th. Carly will be in town then so she and Mom are going to come to the appointment with us. I can't wait to see Bella again!! I wonder if she has any hair? I think they may be able to see it on the ultrasound. She is facing head down with her butt at the top of my belly and legs stuck in the right side of my ribs. She seems to prefer the right side of the belly. It is SO neat to watch the belly move! It is like I have a little alien inside of me. Junior talks to her every night and she always moves when she hears him!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

29 Weeks

We have been blessed and are SO thankful for our beautiful baby girl that is growing bigger and stronger everyday. Words cannot describe how happy and excited we are to become a "Family". We are Thankful for all of our family and friends who have supported us on this crazy Journey. The road has had many twists and turns. We have learned from each experience and have grown as individuals and as a couple. We have a strong relationship and we can't wait to add our Daughter into it. We had a nice Thanksgiving at home. Junior and I cooked and Mom and Andy came over for the day. We ate, watched football, and then a movie after dinner.

Bella's Crib!

Here are some pictures of the Crib!! Junior put it together the same night he brought it home. =)

Here it is ready to put together! See how the color matches the handles on the dresser and the glider.

Junior reading the directions and Peanut helping. We call him inspector gadget because he has to check out everything that is going on!

It's is all put together and ready for Bella!! Check out the bedding too. It is the Brooke Bedding from Pottery Barn. I love the birds and the whimsical look of it.

What a Nice Hubby!

Junior surprised me on Saturday and came home with the crib we had picked out for Bella! What a sweetie!! He got it all put together and it looks great! I will post some pics next week. The room is coming together nicely. I love spending time in there. I can't wait to hold Bella in my arms and rock her to sleep in her new room. I forgot my camera in Tampa this weekend. I will post pics next week once I get it back.

I went to the Dr. on Wednesday.
I am measuring right on track 27 weeks now!
Her heartbeat was 140bpm.
She is 2lbs now!!
Still moving a lot. She is favoring the right bottom of my ribs! Ouch.
I got the H1N1 vaccination. No swine flu for me!

Prayers needed:

I was in Tampa visiting my friend Jennie whos newborn son Paxton had open heart surgery 1 month ago. He is still there recovering. I got to hold him while I was there and he was just beautiful! His eyes were so deep and soulful. He has had a few set backs recently. His family really wants to take him home soon! You can check out her Blog by clicking the Best of The Wests in my blog list.

Yesterday we found out that Juniors cousin Freddys wife Aura has a brain tumor. She also recently just had a baby boy not even two months ago. They rushed her in for emergency surgery. They took out the largest tumor but left two small ones in there. They also found a cyst in her pancreas and liver. We are waiting to hear what the results are. We are just in shock right now. We have gotten very close to them over the years and they are a wonderful couple that just doesn't deserve this right now. Especially with a new baby. So please keep them in your prayers.

Life can change so fast. Please appreciate all the good in your life and try not to sweat the small stuff. You never know what will happen next.

Hothouse Cucumber?!!

Today I am 26 weeks along. Still feeling great! I get a weekly e-mail about the babys growth from Baby Center. They usually compare her to a fruit or a vegetable. It says Bella is as tall as an English Hothouse Cucumber...What the heck is that?? I am sure my British family members will know! I got a cute rug for Bella's Room this week! Of course it is Pink! It has light pink,dark pink, lavender and white. Peanut and Cosmo like it too. They think it is there to rub there bodys all over! Peanut thinks he is a baby. I have been sitting enjoying the Glider Gramma got for Bellas room and he always wants me to pick him up and let him rock with me!! I know its a bad habit he is getting used to. He is going to be mad when the baby comes and he isn't our baby anymore. I made little closet dividers for her clothes they are hearts that I painted pink and attached cute cut outs to. I will attach some pics to this post of them. I got a call from the Doctors office letting me know that they are giving free H1N1 shots to pregnant women this Saturday. I am SO undecided on this!! I don't know what to do. I have never even got a flu shot before. Junior and I have been using had sanitizer and washing our hands all the time to prevent illness. I passed my glucose test that I had to do last week at the Doctors. So no gestational diabetes for me! I guess I can keep eating chocolate and ice cream!! Yum!

I had my checkup Today!

Today I am 24 weeks 5 days! I had a check up today with an ultrasound. Bella looked great!!! She is 1lb 8 oz!! They checked all her organs, her brain, and heart. Everything is growing right on track! They said her brain looks extra smart! ;) We could see her practicing breathing. Her mouth would open and she would swallow the amniotic fluid. Then her chest would rise and fall. So cool!! Every ultrasound we have had so far she has been sucking her thumb and she didn't let us down today. She was doing it again! It will be interesting to see if she does it outside the womb. Here is a picture of her little body. I now start going to the Dr. every 2 weeks!! The Dr. was like ok, I will see you back in 2 weeks I said REALLY?! Umm, reality check I am almost in the third trimester! I hadn't even thought about the every 2 week checkup towards the end. I am used to going every 4 weeks. My next appointment is November 11th.

Bella LeeAnn 24 weeks 5 Days

24 weeks

My Bucs Maternity Tee from Trin! Junior Loves it. Wish the team was doing better.

Bella's Full Name is...

"Bella LeeAnn Cotto". Her middle name is very special because it is after the two most important women in my life. My Mom and Sister. Mom's middle name is Lee and Carly's middle name is Ann. So We decided on LeeAnn! I am sure they will be a steady loving presence in her life. I love that her name has a special meaning.  I hope she loves it too! Our Little Bella LeeAnn.

A fun way to inform my family and friends!

Hi!! Thanks for checking out my blog. I started this when I was 9 weeks pregnant but have never updated it since. So here I am again at 24 weeks. I am going to post info about our baby girl on here weekly. It will be an online diary of sorts about our life and Baby Girl. I just made a new post below on how Baby Bella is doing. Please come visit me here anytime you want. Love, Lisa

24 Weeks Today!

Wow! Today is Viability day. Once you hit 24 weeks the Fetus has a Viable chance of surviving outside the womb with some medical intervention of course. So another great milestone! She is the size of a papaya and my uterus is the size of a soccer ball. She has been doing gymnastics in my belly all day today. I love it when she is this active!! We have been busy these last few weeks painting Bellas room. Mom and I have been having a great time finding all things Pink! We got the Glider this week ( Thank you Gramma Sharon) and the organic crib mattress. Next we need the crib! I can't wait to see her bedding in the crib. Check out the picture for a sneak peek. The dresser used to be Mine and Carlys when we were kids. Andy added a topper to it so we can use it as a changing table. I ordered the butterfly mobile from a lady on etsy.com who hand makes them. So cute!! I love my butterflys!!

9 weeks Along! :)

I am in my 9th week of Pregnancy! I am loving everyday of being pregnant. I feel so blessed and happy to have a little baby growing inside of me. I signed up for some online week by week pregnancy updates. So right now our little one is the size of a green olive! How cute! This little olive is making me so Nauseous! I am learning to cope and eat frequent small meals. I tried Ginger Ale but it doesn't work to well for me. I think it is the carbonation. I also just got "The Belly Book" a Journal to record some photos and info on the pregnancy. Super fun and cute! I am sure I will love looking back on it later in life. Or if I have a daughter and she asks me questions about my pregnancy I will be able to compare notes with her. =)