Happy Birthday!!!

To the world's most wonderful husband and father-to-be!!!

Giving thanks for another great check-up

This morning Donna and Gigi had their 32nd week doctor visit and all is going well. We learned that the sonogram that was performed at 29 weeks indicated that Gigi was in the 70th percentile for size, which the doctor said was fine. No other baby news to report. We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks Lola...

We must admit that we are having fun testing all of the baby stuff before Gigi arrives. We use Gigi's "Lola" doll, of the cartoon Charlie & Lola, as our test subject. We have successfully changed Lola's diaper, swaddled Lola, dressed Lola in a onesie, carried Lola in the Baby Bjorn, watched Lola "sleep" in the crib on the video baby monitor, and strolled Lola around the house in the stroller. Oh yeah, Lola is now hanging out in the small vibrating chair-thing in our family room. So, here's to Lola...thanks for being our test subject... Pictures of Lola's adventures will follow.

One more clue... "Lola" and "Gigi" have fewer letter's combined than Gigi's real name.

4th of July in November...

The days of having to carefully feel for Gigi's small kicks have long passed. Not only can you feel Gigi's movements, you can clearly see them. Donna talks about watching her shirt move when she's sitting at work. In the past, Gigi's movements resembled a small backyard fireworks display, with an occasional small explosion of movement. Gigi's current movements more closely resemble July 4th on the Washington Mall with multiple explosive movements all over the place. With each day, our "uuh"s and "aah"s are getting bigger and bigger as we marvel at Gigi's fireworks display.

For those that are still interested in additional name clues, here's one for you...her name has a Greek origin.

Biweekly Doctor Visit

This morning we had another routine doctor visit. Not much to report (which of course is a good thing), so we'll use this opportunity to offer a not so subtle clue. Gigi's real name is widely used in many countries and has even been the name of numerous queens and princesses (how appropriate).

Nursery Update

With the plethora of gifts that Gigi received at the shower, we were able to fill her nursery with many beautiful touches. Also, as you can see the furniture arrived.



Gigi's Room





Thanks Nana for the beautiful bedding...





Mr. Bailey helped us unpack (he couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to cuddle with "his" new stuffed animals)



Mr. Simba helped too... like a baby, he preferred to play with the paper.

A Shower to Remember...

We can't thank everyone enough for all the love and support that we received at Donna's baby shower this weekend in Baltimore. Christina and Babcha (Grandma Chapelsky) did a wonderful job hosting this incredible event. Here's a special thanks to our family artist, Christina, for hand painting the shower favors (the petite pysanka, which are Ukrainian Easter eggs) and "baking" the amazing diaper cake.



3 of the Pysanka's (made from quail eggs)



...almost good enough to eat


The shower was held at the Alumni House at the College of Notre Dame. As you can see from the pictures, the beautifully decorated Alumni House was the perfect place to celebrate the anticipated arrival of our daughter. We really enjoyed spending time with all that attended, and we especially appreciate all that traveled (including the Healy girls) to make this event one to remember.



Alumni House at the College of Notre Dame



Donna says "thanks dad" for Gigi's first doll.




Great Food...



...Great Dessert...



and very generous Gifts... (to everyone's amazement... these gifts, plus more, fit in Jim's VW for the ride home to Alexandria)

Halloween in Alexandria

In anticipation of Gigi's arrival, we carved three pumpkins... a "VT" for the dad-to-be, a baby for the mom-to-be, and a tiara for the princess-to-be...





Donna with Gigi's Tiara Pumpkin

Babymoon on the Upper West Side

In October we had a chance to get away to our favorite hotel (On the Ave Hotel) in NYC. This trip coincided with the nine year anniversary of our first trip together to NYC at On the Ave. Unlike other stays in NYC, this trip was a little extra special knowing that Gigi came along for the ride.... and Gigi made her presence known. Donna didn't have the same energy to walk for hours and hours. Therefore, we hung out in the Upper West side, which we call our second home, visting our favorite restaurants and coffee shops.



Donna (and Gigi) and Jim in Central Park

After further review... Gigi's not so Big...

The past two doctor visits estimated Gigi to be larger than normal (two weeks ahead of schedule). Today, we had a sonogram to get a much more accurate estimate of her size. The sonogram determined that shE's measuring right on schedule (29 weeks). She's not too big and not too small (about 3 lbs). For the first time we had the pleasure of seeing our daughter in 3D (including a big yawn and an even bigger smile). In 3D, she really resembles Donna's baby pictures and she definitely has Jim's nose (what a lucky girl). Stay tuned, Donna will scan some of the images to post on the blog.



Look at those lips!



Gigi smiling for the camera!



I'm getting tired of the parent-azzi!


I'm going to start charging!

Infant CPR was a success

We spent Saturday morning learning Infant and Child CPR at George Washington Hospital. The technique today is much more simple than when both of us took CPR years ago to become lifeguards. Along with several other expectant parents, two "child care" providers were in our class. After watching the so called "child care" providers perform CPR on the baby maniquiNs, we learned that some care providers take things more seriously than others. Needless to say, we would not want either of the two care providers in our class to ever watch our child. Which left us asking ourselves if we should "test" everyone that takes care of Gigi. It was probably the most useful two hours each of us has spent in a long time. Hopefully, we will never need to use our new skills, but we feel confident if the situations arises.