Halfway There!

First, let me wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day!!! Remembering and thanking all of those special people that fought and fight for our country every day! Especially to my husband who worked so hard in a lab in his Air Force years ;) as well as my brother-in-law Justin who currently sacrifices so much for our country. You both are my heroes for sure! Wearing blue today in honor of you! 

I can hardly believe that we have hit our halfway mark! It seems to be flying by! I guess this is just a preview of how fast this little munchkin will grow. So far pregnancy has been great, I'm finally getting a decent nights sleep but slowly shoving Vince and Berkeley out of the bed with all of my pillows. I feel great and love being pregnant! Joseph is kicking more and more these days and I can't help but smile every time I feel a jab here and there, even at 4am. This feeling is absolutely incredible. During the day while daddy is at work, we lounge around in the pool and sing songs. He does a lot of moving around when I sing...I'm pushing the country music as much as possible before daddy can do anything about it. And cravings? The only real thing that I'm craving are Sonic slushes! I need one every day. They last all day and I just realized that half of them are made with Splenda so now I don't feel as bad. My favorite? BLACKBERRY! I think Vince is getting used to seeing that $2.16 charge every day from Sonic... 

Right now we have A LOT going on! Vince and I are currently under contract for a house in Covington! We cannot WAIT to have our own home to bring baby home to. Covington is about 30 minutes west of where we are now. It has the best school systems in the state and plenty of awesome shopping and restaurants to enjoy! It will be a little longer drive for Vince to and from work but he has assured me that it won't be a problem. The house is a little older so there are a few things we would like to update before moving in. First and foremost, the popcorn ceilings MUST go. After that we plan on painting the entire house (1658 sq ft that is) and finally laying new flooring throughout the entire house. Unfortunately, I won't be able to help with any of it. Neither will I be able to help with the moving part as well, however I plan on supervising the entire process. My parents have volunteered to help out with all updating as well as moving us, THANK YOU JOJO AND PA K!!!! We are SO happy you're coming to help!! Our closing date is June 27th, hoping that USAA gets their act together quickly and can close sooner but not counting on it. Vince plans to be starting on the house on the 28th and working most of his weekends in July to get it all done so we can move in by the end of July. WISH US (I mean him) LUCK!!!

Oh, BABY

Friday was a big day for our family to say the least. However, let's back up to February 3rd (Superbowl Sunday). That Sunday morning, Vince and I woke to a very special surprise....a positive pregnancy test! For over a year and a half we had been trying for a little one and this day had finally happened for us! Being that we both can't keep a secret when something this huge is at play, we were on the phone calling our family to announce our incredible news. From there, the votes for boy or girl began and mom hit up the fabric store! We decided to keep it a secret from the entire world until we were a little further along and the longer we waited the more we realized that we should just wait until we knew what our little nugget would be. On Mother's Day after a quick weekend trip to Memphis, we came home and relaxed the rest of the night on the couch. It was then that we felt our first baby kicks and got us both anxious to know! It was an incredible feeling and such a gift for my Mothers-Day-to-be. I knew that we would find out sometime around my birthday and since this would be my first year not spending the day with my twin to celebrate, I went ahead and made the appointment on my birthday. It was the best decision ever.

Jumping forward to May 17th. Without any sleep the night before, I was awakened bright and early by my husband with heart shaped pancakes and presents to open. Luckily, our appointment was at 9am so we wouldn't have to wait the entire day. During our ultra sound we were able to see our little nugget and discover that HE was a BOY! I wasn't shocked a bit. Ok maybe a little bit shocked, only to discover that I had been right all along! Vince wasn't shocked either, although I know he secretly wanted a little girl. Maybe next time we can use all 28271632094 girl clothes my sister passed on to us. Until then they will just have to sit in the garage, patiently waiting. Consignment stores, I'm on my way! It's so exciting to find out the gender, we have friends that never found out with both of their little girls and let me tell you, it's not easy finding neutral stuff these days. I'm happy to know what colors to shop for! We thoroughly enjoyed this part of the appointment but seeing all of his arms, legs, fingers, toes, and heart was just as mind numbing. We also tried looking at his face but someone apparently is already taking after his father by being stubborn :). At first he was covering it with his hands and then when we came back to try and see it again, he did a complete face plant and was now on his belly. We'll find you little man! That being said, we have to wait until our next appointment to try and see his cute little eyes, nose and mouth. I still can't help but be amazed at this little guy and what a miracle life truly is. Knowing that he is inside me growing still has me in awe and thanking God for this giant blessing.

After our appointment, we headed home to pick up Berkeley and head to Fairview/Riverside Park to take a few announcement pictures. Unfortunately, Berkeley wouldn't cooperate (surprise surprise) so he was left out of our photoshoot...maybe next time buddy. I did get a photo of him when we first found out we were pregnant that I think will suffice for now though.
So the belly has definitely pooched out in just the past week, therefore the maternity jeans are on! And my are they comfortable! I was very lucky to have two sister/sister-in-laws who are done having babies to hand down ALL of their maternity clothes. I'm set. Until I come across that new maternity dress that calls my name somewhere. :) 

We are so happy and thrilled to be welcoming Joseph Thomas Lombardy to our family in October. We decided on the name Joseph because it's my father's name. It's a name that has been handed down for many generations and since my dad was lucky enough to have twin girls, it was forced to end. However, I knew from day one that I wanted to continue it on. My dad is a huge part of my life and has done more for me than any parent is obligated to do. He is our family's rock and I hope that our little Joseph will feel special to have been named after his Pa K.

God has truly blessed us. We prayed for this child and we were answered. I'm looking forward to all the joy he will bring to our lives and for all that God has in store for us with this little one.

 

Memphis Trip

Vince and I drove to Memphis this Mother's Day weekend to see my cousin Cody graduate from Saint Benedict at Auburndale High School! It's hard to believe he's now a college kid. Watching him walk across the stage makes me feel old and hard to believe that I did the very same thing 11 years ago!
In the fall, Cody will be attending Christian Brothers University (my dads school!) where he plans to study biochemical engineering...better him than me. Cody has turned out to be such a gentlemen and I am so proud of all his accomplishments. I know his dad is looking down on him, smiling and feeling proud as well.
On Sunday, on our way home we stopped by aunts house in Mississippi to have a yummy Memphis BBQ Mother's Day dinner. I always enjoy seeing my cousins and their babies. My cousin Becca had a baby 7 months ago (Braden) and we were finally able to meet the little sweetie and "try" to get some squeezes from him! My other cousin Ryan has a son (Carter) who is 2. Mr. Carter sure does have a little personality now. He's more like 2 going on 13 with a lot to say.
We enjoyed spending the weekend seeing all my family and playing catching up with everyone. I am extremely blessed to have them all in my life and look forward to another trip back.