When it Rains it Pours...Showers

We have been blessed with the most amazing friends and family. We say this because they were amazing enough to throw us not one but two baby showers! The first one took place in CT at the Novoa's house on August 16th. It was prepared under the guise of Audrey and Salvador Novoa's 40th wedding anniversary party. We were taken mostly by surprise except when we weren't actually allowed to help set up for the impending party...then we knew something was up. We are so grateful to everyone that came and for all the beautiful gifts we received. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures at this moment to post but when we do we will be sure to put them up.

Now, as if it wasn't enough to have one wonderful shower we were surprised yet again this past Saturday August 30th with another shower; this time in Boston. Our dear, wonderful, awesome and beautiful friends Angie and Katie threw us a fantabulous party at their house. Along with help from several other of our friends (a special thank you to the Straubs) they put together a truly memorable event. We received so many fantastic gifts, some of which were incredibly creative. Our friends never cease to amaze us. Thank you so much for all your love and support. Our little boy is going to be so blessed to have so many people in his life to love him and show him the many ways to navigate the adventures of life. Fortunately, we do have pictures of our Boston shower to share. Thanks again Angie and Katie...can't wait to get you back!

31 Weeks and Still Growing

This past Saturday we had our second and final appointment with the 3D/4D Ultrasound. Our little man was acting as usual...shy and stubborn, but cute as could be. As is his M.O., he was facing towards the placenta which is situated at Jennifer's back...that's right, so all we got to see for a while was the back of his head or his little ear (although it was a really cute ear). After about 30 minutes of switching Jennifer's position and jumping up and down we finally got a clear view of his face. He's developing really well and already seems content to just stay asleep (let's hope that trend continues once he's out of the womb). He even opened his eye for us. I think he was trying to see who the hell keeps disturbing his beauty sleep.

We would like to extend our thanks to Shawn and Zoe Straub for making the trip to see our baby boy. We really enjoyed having you there to experience this with us. Perhaps our little man was shy because his boy parts were hanging out for everyone to see. He's just going to have learn that in the Novoa family it's ok to be naked...in fact, it's encouraged.

Spoiled Rotten Already

In reviewing the past few months we discovered that our little one has also been exposed to some really awesome events that hopefully translated well into his womb.

It all started way back in the month of April with a trip to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium for an infamous Pat Benatar concert. This was a real treat for our tiny little boys ears to hear. If you have ever seen Pat Benatar live then you know how special her performances can be and this time was no different. This was definitely a great way to kick off our little boys introduction to some good ol' 80's music (which he will be hearing a lot of around the house once he's out).

The next month the three of us (along with Audrey, Salvador, Erik and Anna) had the pleasure of attending a performance of Le Corsaire by ABT (American Ballet Theater) in NYC. Admittedly this is sort of an annual tradition in the Novoa family but nonetheless special and exciting. We're hoping some of the male dancer's virtuosity made it into our little boy's developing feet and legs. Thanks Mom and Dad Novoa for making this such a beautiful tradition for our family; and one that we intend on continuing.

Then in June we were blessed with tickets to a Red Sox game from Peter Feinmann (Marina's boss). Even though the Red Sox lost to the Seattle Mariners (at the time one of the worst teams in Baseball) we are hoping that our little slugger got Dustin Pedroia's strong swing and "never give up" attitude. * Note: I have to give a special shout out to Angie for the recent awesome invite to a Red Sox game. Unfortunately, the little fetus could not be there so it was only Marina and Angie who got to experience a Red Sox game 8 rows from the field! (Notice the up close and personal shot of Dustin Pedroia from aforementioned game). Hopefully one day our little man will be one of those lucky kids who gets a ball tossed to him from the field by the bat boy.

July started the run of music concerts that the three of us attended. Along with our dear friend Kris, we got to see the revival of one of the hottest 80's performers of all time... George Michael. Yes, he's back...and better than ever. The music was loud and proud and if our little boy turns out to be a little gay boy then we can certainly attribute this concert to his sexual awakening.

So far, August has not disappointed with musical talent either. At the ripe old age of 29-1/2 weeks our little boy has already been spoiled by sitting only a few rows from one of today's greatest pop singers....that's right you know who it is....Celine Dion. As most of you know Marina is a die hard fan and proud of it (so keep you snickering to yourselves; after all, you know you were just as guilty of belting "My Heart Will Go On" in the shower or car as she was). The concert was extra special because we were so close we could almost touch her (take notice of the live shot Marina took with her dinky cell phone camera). Our little man was definitely enjoying himself as was evident by all the jabs and rolls he did inside Jennifer's belly.

Well, we only have a few more months to go and I'm sure whatever events we experience will be full of excitement and joy for us and our little son.

A Farewell to the 2nd Trimester

Here we are, 29 weeks along! Woo Hoo! What an excellent 7 + months this has been! The 2nd trimester was fun and interesting in its own way for us. If you've been keeping up with our posts, then you probably already read about the woeful month of June we experienced due to a nasty bout of Salmonella and then the resulting rectal abscess requiring surgery. I guess you could say that we were given opportunity to rehearse for labor/delivery.

Our pregnancy has been spectacular. No problems, no complaints... all joy and fun. In fact Marina and I have enjoyed the pregnancy experience so much, that I'm pretty sure my rectum was getting jealous of all the attention the bump in my belly was getting, and decided to make a bump of its own (my lovely abscess) to spite us.

Our little growing baby has been really active and pretty predictable. We can always count on him to give some active kicking/movement about 30 minutes after I eat, as well as consistently every night from about 10:30pm to midnight. This is when we notice him most. He does gymnastics in his little cozy and dark womb. I think he thinks nobody is looking, so he can practice his jitterbug without criticism.

Our little fetus also reacts to music played/sung to him. He seems to really like the heavy base sounds, or very percussive songs. Some of his favorites include Marina's rendition of "Little Bunny Foo Foo", Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (very percussive), Cole Porter songs preferably sung by Cesare Siepe, and his most favorite of all recordings so far is the rich deep sounds of his grandpa Novoa singing opera.


My favorites for the second Trimester:
fresh sliced tomatoes
ice chips
red meat
fountain soda, with ice chips
slushes, frozen beverages
baby bump defining maternity clothes
baby bump defining dances
"The Girlfriend" body pillow
fetal hiccups
Tums (peppermint)
Marina's singing to the bump
4D ultrasound video
The Salfity's


Items I am happy to leave behind in the second Trimester:
glucose tests
tomatoes
leg cramps
pulled stomach muscle
salmonella
bleeding/sensitive gums
my well-traveled hospital issued ass pillow
extra holes in the ass
drainage bags
rectal exams
standing on the sidelines in the rain during our softball season