Our Pea in the Pod: 15 Weeks

Today we are officially 15 weeks with our little Pea in the Pod!  This pregnancy is going by so quickly that we can't believe it.  We are now in the 2nd trimester, and, thankfully, most of the sickness seems to be over!  :)  I am apparently "pregnant enough" that strangers notice now.  Since over the past week, I've had a handful of people we don't know ask when we're due, etc, which is exciting!

Another exciting thing that has happened since our last "Pea in the Pod update," is getting to hear the heartbeat...whenever we want!  We heard the heartbeat at the first doctor's appointment at 9 weeks with no problems, but a great friend in North Carolina shipped her home fetal doppler to me to borrow (thanks, Cassandra!)!  So when we got the home doppler at 13 weeks we were able to find the heartbeat which was awesome!  We don't use the doppler all the time, since overuse is not recommended, but it's SO tempting to listen all the time!

We had another prenatal appointment when I was 13 weeks, and everything was going great!  Now we're just looking forward to our ultrasound on November 14th when we will find out the gender!!

Here are the pictures from the past couple of weeks...

13 Weeks

14 Weeks

15 Weeks

Dawson now likes to be a part

of the belly pictures.  Here we are

at 14 weeks.

And then he wanted to be in today's

15 week picture too!  My sweet boy!

Murder Mystery Party

On Saturday after getting back in town from our trip to Lexington, we attended a Murder Mystery Party.  Our friends, Jenn and Michael, organized the whole thing, and it was GREAT!  The theme was "Murder in the Library," and we were all assigned parts of different storybook characters.  John was Dr. Watson (from Sherlock Holmes), and I was Goldilocks.  A few other guests at the party included: Snow White, the Wicked Witch from Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, Pinocchio, Genie, Aladdin, Robin Hood, Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Dorthy (Wizard of Oz), Huck Finn, Cinderella, Sherlock Holmes, the Mad Hatter, Bashful, and Little Red Riding Hood.  (I know I missed a few!)

It was fun getting together with our friends all dressed in character.  We went through all four acts, and finally discovered who murdered King Henry...and we obviously wouldn't be good investigators because not a single person guessed the correct villain!  :)  We had such a great time, and I'm convinced we will never find another group of friends as fun as these!

If you're wondering what Dawson did while we were partying, he was in group baby sitting with all his friends.  Three ladies who work in our nursery at church, baby sat at one couple's house.  So while we were partying, Dawson got to have fun playing with all his friends too!  It was a win, win! 

Enjoy our pictures below...

Group Photo

Goldilocks and Dr. Watson

A far-away shot so you can see our

full-costumes AND baby!

(14 weeks in this picture)

Our Babymoon

When I was 5 months pregnant with Dawson, John and I decided to take a babymoon-one last trip, just the two of us, before we were a family of three.  We had such a great time on our babymoon to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, that John promised that we would try to take a babymoon while expecting future kids, and of course, I was on board!  About a month ago, we looked at our calendar and realized how busy the months were going to be between November and our Pea in the Pod's arrival in April.  We decided to go ahead and take our babymoon a little early this time!

So last week, we drove to Tennessee to drop Dawson off.  He got to stay with his Nana and Grandad, but he also got to see his Lolly, Pop, Aunt Emmie, Cousin Drew, and Great Mamaw which he was there.  After getting Dawson settled in Tennessee, John and I headed to Lexington, Kentucky.  In April 2007 we went with a big group of friends for AGR's formal to Keeneland in Lexington and had a blast.  Since then we've always wanted to go back to Keeneland, and since they only race there in April and October this worked out perfectly. 

We spent all day at the races on Wednesday and got to see all 9 races.  We won on two races, a whopping $3.20 and then an even bigger win-$5.20!  We thought that was pretty good considering we were only doing bets between ten cents and two dollars.  We were not really there to gamble, but it makes watching the races more fun when you have a horse to cheer for.  There are some little shops at Keeneland also, so in the 35 minutes between each race we browsed the shops.  We came out with matching blue t-shirts for John and Dawson.  They have a horse and jockey and say Keeneland.  I have yet to get a picture, but Dawson is thrilled to have a shirt "just like Daddy."

We also had fun watching the horses in the paddock and all of the festivities between races.  We dressed more casual on Wednesday than last time we went to the races (last time I was decked out-even with a hat), and we were relieved to see that the Fall Match seems to be more casual than Spring.  There were even people there wearing jeans.

After a fun day at Keeneland we headed downtown to DeSha's for a yummy dinner.  The next morning we went to Spalding's Bakery downtown for handmade donuts.  It has been in Lexington since 1929, and the donuts were so good!  We laughed about how we discovered the Dandee Donut Shop in Fort Lauderdale on our last babymoon and at there a few times! 

Thursday we had planned to go back to the races, but it was raining.  We decided to have a relaxing day of shopping.  We went to a couple malls and two Targets (how can we travel to a new city and not visit at least one Target?!) haha!  For dinner we found another good restaurant, Saul Good, and then went to see a movie. 

Our time in Lexington went by very quickly, but by the end of the week we could not wait to get back to see Dawson.  When we picked him up he asked us if we had been "in Tucky watchin' horses?"   So sweet!  Now we're back home, and getting settled back in after being out of town.  I can't believe our babymoon is over, but we had a great time!

At Keeneland in front of the track in between

races.  (14 weeks pregnant).

Spending some time in the paddock checking

out the horses before the next race.

A close race!

The winning ticket!  ($5.20 haha)

Family Palooza

On Saturday, October 8th, we headed over to the Village of Providence for the first ever Family Palooza.  We were not really sure what to expect, but we were not disappointed.  Dawson had a great morning, visiting all the booths.  He made a hacky sack (which he has since destroyed), played with a giant parachute, and made and launched a paper missle, to name a few things.  He was also thrilled that there were two characters there in costume.  We could not keep him away from Louis the Duck and Homer the Pole Cat (the mascot for the Huntsville Stars).  He absolutely could not get enough of them, and he is still talking about Louis and Homer! 

They also had a giant inflatable slide.  At first, I thought it was too big for Dawson, but my big boy climbed right up to the top with no help and slid right down atleast 20 times!  There was also a fire truck and a bubble machine that Dawson enjoyed.  It was a perfect morning to be outside enjoying all this fun!

Not only did we have fun, but after the event I was contact and informed that I won one of the doorprizes...a gift card to Bridge Street!  It couldn't have gotten any better.

Dawson with Lewis the Duck.

He was thrilled when Lewis asked

if he could pick him up.

Dawson kept wandering back over

to Lewis.

Dawson and another little boy

running through the bubbles.

My brave boy coming down the

big slide!

Dawson driving the firetruck while holding the

missle he made.

John's Birthday, Our Visit to Tate Farms, and Our Little Pea in the Pod (12 Weeks)

On Tuesday John celebrated his 27th birthday!  He was off work, and so we celebrated all day.  We visited Tate Farms, a local pumpkin patch and more!  When we went last Fall Dawson really enjoyed it, but he was a little too small to do a few of the bigger slides.  This year, however, he did it all!  

He loved the farm animals like bunnies, sheep, baby chicks, and goats he got to pet, although he thought the sheep was dirty!  Haha.  We also got to see a baby cow being bottle fed, and Dawson has not stopped talking about it.  After the petting zoo, we headed over to the newest "attraction," a jumping pillow.  It was a huge inflatable pillow for kids (and adults) to bounce on.  Dawson was in heaven bouncing outside!

Next we checked out all the slides.  He enjoyed the one attached to the combine that he also liked last year, but he also braved the HUGE slide with Daddy.  You can see just how big it is in the pictures!  Dawson then had fun on some regular swings and some swings made out of saddles.  Of course our little guy spotted all the tractors around, so we had to climb on all of them and pretend to drive. 

One of Dawson's favorite parts of Tate Farms this year were the Corn Cribs.  These are basically just big square pits full of dried corn.  He had a blast jumping off the sides of the cribs into the corn and trying to walk in it!

After all the jumping he was ready for a snack so he shared a pumpkin slushy with John.  You can't get a pumpkin slushy just anywhere!  :)

Next Dawson and I took a brief ride on the Corn Train, little corn cars pulled by a tractor.  Then we headed over to take a hay ride out to the fields where the pumpkins were growing.  It was a bumpy ride, but Dawson loved it!  When we got to the field, Dawson and I searched for the perfect pumpkins, and then John tore them from the vine.

We picked a perfect day to go to Tate Farms, because with it being a Tuesday afternoon early in the season they were not very busy at all!  It was perfect for Dawson to be able to run from one thing to the next and us to be able to keep up with him while letting him run around.  After a great day at Tate Farms, we headed home to cook John's birthday dinner.  He had requested steak, so we had creamed spinach bowls for an appetizer and steak and baked potatoes for dinner.  Then, of course, we had birthday cake.  Dawson helped me make the cake that was white with orange sprinkles.  John said he had a very happy 27th birthday!

Our Little Pea in the Pod:  12 Weeks

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 12th week of my pregnancy with Baby Zorio #2.  We head back to the doctor next week, and we're looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again.  Not much is new on the baby-front, we know that he/she is growing, and we're still thrilled!

Check out all the photos below...

Dawson petting one of the bunnies.

Dawson and Daddy petting the sheep.

Dawson and Daddy looking at some more goats.

Dawson and Daddy coming down the HUGE

slide and having a blast!

They made it to the bottom, and Dawson

loved it!

Doing the combine slide.

Driving a John Deere.

Our little farmer.

The Jumping Pillow.

More fun on the Jumping Pillow.

One more picture of Dawson on the Jumping Pillow.

We went through the hay maze, and I

finished first!  I had enough time to climb up

on the viewing deck and snap a picture of

Dawson and Daddy finding their way through the

last of the maze.

YAY!  They made it out!

Jumping in the Corn Crib.

Jumping in the Corn Crib.

Jumping in the Corn Crib.

Daddy and Dawson swinging.

Mommy and Dawson sitting in the corn train.

John getting the big pumpkin we chose

off the vine.

The pumpkin patch.

Dawson wanted to sit on our big

pumpkin.

Dawson trying to blow out John's candles

before John came in the room.  Dawson has

been singing "Happy Birthday" nonstop

since Tuesday.

Dawson showing off the pumpkins

we brought home.

Dawson's newest obsession:  A Writing

Spider.  This writing spider built a web outside

the playroom window in between two shrubs

last week, and Dawson has watched and talked

about this spider more than anything else!

Sometimes we even have to go outside

to check on the spider.  We don't get

too close, but we are VERY interested.

(We did a little research, and writing spiders/

harvest spiders are harmless to people.  I still

don't just love it being there, but we can't get

rid of it now.  Dawson loves it too much!)

Yesterday I asked John to take our 12

week picture, and Dawson ran over to the

spot I always stand and turned to his side!

So here's the 12 week picture with Dawson

in his pjs.

And here's the official 12 week picture!

Our Growing Pea in the Pod (11 Weeks)

I thought I'd do a brief update on our little pea in the pod!  :) 

I'm currently 11 weeks pregnant, and our baby is about the size of a lime.  We had an ultrasound at the doctor for our first appointment at 9 weeks, and I've posted the picture below.  Our ultrasound was SO clear!  We could see our baby's arms and legs and everything, but when the pictures were printed they're not quiet as clear as the images on the screen.  Our ultrasound tech was great, and she even switched the machine over to 4-D for us to get a brief, detailed look at our little one!  The lady who did our ultrasound did comment on how our little one was moving all over the place during the ultrasound, so it looks like we're going to have another busy one, just like Dawson!  :)

We are determined to have made up our minds on a final boy's name and girl's name before our ultrasound which we expect to be in November.  This is what we did with Dawson, and when they told us during the ultrasound he was a boy we already knew his name!  And this is exactly the way I want to do it again.  We have it narrowed down to a handful of boys and girls' names, and so we just have to select the perfect one!

No blog update could be complete without mention of Dawson, so here you go...Dawson is maybe starting to get a little more interested in talking about babies.  He has mentioned the baby twice on his own, which I think is progress from saying "no thank you, welcome" when we asked him if he wanted a baby just a couple of weeks ago!

Just three pictures to share for now...

Ultrasound picture from 9 weeks.

Ultrasound picture from 9 weeks.

Watch Baby Grow:

11 Weeks Pregnant.

The Zorio Family is Growing!

John, Dawson, and I are excited to announce that our family will be growing in April!  Dawson is going to be a big brother! 

I am currently 10 weeks 5 days pregnant, and the baby's due date is April 10, 2012.  We could not be more excited about this new addition to our family.  Although, when we first asked Dawson if he wanted to have a baby at our house his response was, "No thank you, welcome," I think he will love being a big brother.  That silly boy!  John and I can't wait to have another little one to take care of.

When we went to Tennessee last weekend we announced it to our families at John's birthday dinner.  I took Dawson upstairs to change his clothes for dinner, and when we came back down he had on a shirt that I made for him that said "Big Brother Dawson."  Of course, our families were very excited for us, and my sister-in-law informed me that it was time for pink!  We shall see!  Sometime in November we will find out the gender, and this time around I have no true preference...I think it would be awesome to have another boy so that Dawson would have a brother to do boy stuff with, but at the same time I would love some pink in our lives!

Over the course of the past week we have told the rest of our family and friends our good news.  Here are some pictures of the growing baby and proud big brother Dawson!

6 Weeks Pregnant.

7 Weeks Pregnant

8 Weeks Pregnant

9 weeks Pregnant

10 Weeks Pregnant

(I called these pictures "Watch My

Baby Grow," but John thought a better

title was "Watch my Shirt Shrink" Haha!)

This is the shirt I made for Dawson

to wear so he could announce that

he is going to be a big brother!

My silly boy in his bean bag chair

proudly wearing his "Big Brother Dawson"

shirt!

One more picture in his

Big Brother Dawson shirt!