24 week checkup

With all the travels and things going on in the last few weeks, I haven't updated much on Baby Mann. Well for starters, as you can see we still don't have a name. We have a few in mind that we have toyed with the idea and asked others which they like but haven't solidfied an official birth certificate "see it in ink" name. I think we are both waiting for that "Ah Ha" moment so until then, he is still Baby Mann. However, no matter what we call him, he is still doing well in there. Last Thurs, July 17th, I had my 24 week checkup with Dr Watkins. She actually is due in Sept herself (a couple months before us) so she can really relate to what is going on with me. I finally had a little iPhone checklist I started the day before of questions like "why does only one foot swell and not both" She answered because that is the side the baby favors more. This seemed odd because the kicks and feeling of more movement is on my right side but its my left one that looks elephanty. Oh well, at least there is an explanation there and it is not due to anything being wrong with me like too much salt or a sign of preclamsia. The sneezing is caused by the progesterone which causes all the mucus to rumble around in my nose. Phil in our office has given up on say "bless you" because he knows I can sneeze up to 10 times a day. No worries! lol He said he has never known someone to sneeze as much as me. Congrats, a new accomplishment here. The pain I felt when getting up from sitting on couch or out of bed is due to the lower muscles being stretched as the uterus grows, once again, completely normal and happens to all. Phew! I asked about when he will turn around so he is not breech. This happens by the 34th week so I have some time to move him around to avoid a c-section. This is also the same week that is the end of flying. They don't recommend boarding a plane any later in your pregnancy. I don't know why I asked because we have no plans to go anywhere but in my head "just in case" we want just one more last minute trip besides the drive to Destin, I thought I would see. lol Then finally, I knew I had another test coming up so I wanted to find out when and what it was all about. This is the gestational diabetes test. I swallow a bottle in 5 minutes of this reddish liquid exactly one hour before my next appointment (no food or drink after midnight) then the test is performed after drawing blood that morning. I was hoping all the peeing in a cup to check for sugar and protein was enough but this is a mandatory test regardless because it has a better indication of the sugars in me. Uh oh! Sweet tooth lookout....to be continued on that one. lol. In the meantime, nothing huge to report. He is right on track still for his Nov due date. He measures exactly 24 weeks which is determined by the length of my lower rib cage down to my lower hip bone area by a measuring tape. His heart is still around the 157 area, a healthy strong thump thump and he is quite the kicker for only being the size of a corn or rutabaga. The new Transformers movie Joe and I went to at Movie Tavern, he was a wild man in there. I wasn't sure if it was because the movie was so loud and it aggravated him or because it was one where you can eat dinner at and the food woke him up. I kept Joe's hand on my belly for him to feel the excitement, every time he would kick we would look at each other, laugh and smile. The other active time is at night either in bed or after we eat on the couch downstairs. Sometimes it feels like a mini-jackhammer with fast lil pitter patters (non painful)but flutters around the navel and center bottom of the tummy. We are looking forward to "seeing" him again. Since the OBGYN office only schedules for two ultrasounds during the 9 months, we are going back to Storkvision when Sandy, Sean & Kaleigh come into town for the baby shower in mid August. Apparently the best time for a viewing is week 24-30 or so and that's exactly where we are at. Can't wait!

4th of July - TX

On the 3rd of July, we had an easy flight and got into San Antonio airport around 5pm and headed straight downtown (the flight felt safer than the limo service to the airport in Atlanta, the guy drove like it was rush hour in New York City, haha) Joe was craving some hometown Mexican so we met his friend T Harvey at Rosario's. I have to say I could have drank the cheese dip and as Joe would say "only you" Hey, it was the best thing I could enjoy while everyone else was sipping on their Prickly Pear margaritas. The ones Sandy said "kind of taste like lipstick" at first. lol. They are a pinkish color despite the word pear as I assumed green but learned the prickly plant is a purple one. Then after a nice full meal, we headed to say hello to the Alamo since I hadn't seen it the first time I was in SA. We just did a quick drive by. It was crowded on the outside with lots of people hanging out nearby. Located in the heart of the district and one of those landmarks you say you've been to by just seeing it from afar. So one bucket list item crossed off now, thanks! For the 4th we headed to a neighbors pool house for the day, enjoyed a feast of snacks, dips, desserts and good ole American cookout while swimming,drinking,diving and soaking up the sun before an unusual terrential downpour came in sideways with thunder and lightning. However it didn't rain on our picnic, we continued the evening with backyard fireworks at Josh & Alex's house that Joe and Sean picked up on the way in. Due to the fact the guys had enjoyed the holiday with plenty of cold adult beverages, the firing off of the cannons and black cats seemed a little uneasy that someone might get hurt. Maybe I only had that feeling once or twice when they felt like they popped out instead of up and some shrapnal hit my elbow. I documented some of the fun with a couple video clips of the action. Luckily everyone went to bed with all their fingers and toes and rested well before another full day. Up and early we enjoyed some biscuits and gravy that Alex was sweet to make for everyone including her sister and boyfriend who stopped by, Sean & Kaleigh stayed the night so they were there with Joe and I as well as Josh ....we spent the morning laughing about the evening antics and old stories they shared. It wasn't too long after finishing that meal we had to pack up our bags and head to Joe's dad's house to meet him and Grandma Kitty to head into San Antonio again for some lunch. This was my first occasion meeting him so I put my best foot forward. haha. We ate at his favorite meal spot which is Longhorns and enjoyed a couple hours catching up before heading back to get to the hotel that he reserved for us that evening. It felt like prom because he also insisted we take his new yellow Corvette convertible for the evening since we were heading to Coy & Sandi's wedding that night in Blanco. I almost made Joe stop at the store to get me a corsage. It was a very nice gesture and made us feel like kids again, lol. So this was the very first time I wore boots to a wedding and not 3 inch heels in true Texas tradition, I wore my black ones that Joe got me for Christmas and a matching black dress for the occasion. The only problem was my poor feet from being on the go so much around this time of pregnancy plus the humidity made them so swollen. It took both of us and few up and down jumps to get my feet in before we left for the wedding. Hey, who said fashion isn't pain? I also brought a back up pair of short sandal heels in my purse which I did utilize later in the evening to let the ole dogs breath at the second dance hall. So I jumped ahead there, first around 5:30pm we attended the gazebo nuptials of Coy and Sandi, then all headed across the street to the reception at the first dance hall, Old 300 Back 40 for BBQ dinner, two stepping (I am no good at this) and listening to Gary Allen Hurst and guitar :)Met lots of new and nice people that Joe has grown up with, it was a pleasure to be introduced (especially as his new wife!)Then wrapped up the evening going to his old stomping grounds at Twin Sisters dance hall which has much history in his family as well. Quite cool! He remembers the place since he was a little boy as Sandi and her parents were co-owners of the establishment in years past. He of course had to name drop which I think is awesome to the ticket ladies as they treated him like a local celebrity. (insert giggles here) They are in the process of raising money for a grant for historical preservation so in effort asked him to try to obtain old documents from the family to show the roots and past. We minutely supported the cause by purchasing a Twin Sisters t-shirt and a couple coozies. We were on a souvenier collection kick! I utilized the Mike and the Moonpies trucker hat on the way home to hold my hair while we had the top down, listening to booty shaking rap music in the yellow Corvette formentioned, we were a styling and profiling couple right there! lol Another good nights rest to a another full day before leaving the next day. Since we had a few hours to burn before our 4:30 flight on Sunday we took full advantage. Headed to another Mexican restaurant "The Mo" for short...haha I can see Kelli and Alex cringe as I say that. The Alamo Cafe is the proper name then over to The Main Event for bowling, skeeball and other little games to get a few spares and strikes, a few tickets enough to get me a sweet n sour lollipop and Bowen all the tiny dinosaurs to fill a carseat with :)In fact, I even saw Bowen get a strike, not sure if it was his first one but I documented it, good job nephew!! Then off to the airport to say our goodbyes or should I say "see you again soons" before we headed back to Atlanta for a full work week ahead of us after a nice family holiday vacation! It was great visiting with everyone, double thanks again for all the hospitality and efforts made by all to make our trip wonderful!!

Lake Day & Savannah Getaway

The weekend before the 4th we were able to get together with the Granberg family and have them come up to my parents lake house for a picnic, jetskiing, boating and catch some sun for a full afternoon to early evening. We had been talking about doing this for a while now and finally found a date we could all ride up. Joe and Garrett rode up early that Saturday around 6am to do some fishing. Apparently anything after 9am isn't real fishing or so I overheard them say, so when they did finish up I was looking forward to hearing the grand total of fish caught on their expedition (all of one or so blocks from the dock that they ventured)....drum roll please....one and half total. haha. However, we all know it is all about the tale that goes along with the outing than the actual amount of fish caught so more just glad they had fun since that's all that counts. Therefore, for dinner we planned on BBQ and to go food from Skogies than lake fish. lol I included a pic of Joe pulling Garrett on the tube from the jetski and there is also a video of it on our Youtube GAMannClan channel too for good memories. I also captured a picture while I was driving on the way home, there was a full rainbow from the house all the way to the highway, a rare sighting after a small rain shower that evening. It was a lot more spectacular in person I have to admit. We arrived home and once again, we were packing up for a Sunday trip the next day. Dad invited us along with him and mom for a trip to Savannah for a couple days. It is about 4 hour drive south from our house to get there. Dad let us newlyweds get away from work and see a new city that Joe had never been too before. It is quite historical from Civil War days, close to the ocean and right on the Savannah River. There is Spanish Moss on the trees like you see in the movies such as Forest Gump and Legend of Bagger Vance, old cemetaries and mansions, shops and restaurants within walking distance from the hotel. From the moment we got down there until Tuesday afternoon, we packed in as many touristy things to do. We stayed at a brand new Kimpton hotel called The Brice which was conveniently across the street from "The Riverwalk" ,of Savannah, that is. In a nutshell, the highlights we did were a horse and carriage tour ride, riverboat afternoon cruise, shopped til we dropped looking around for souveniers on Riverwalk and City Market Square, headed to Forsyth Park to walk around while a band played outdoors on a stage, stopped by the Olde Pink House for drinks, had some fine dining at Garibaldis, The Belford, Sapphire Grill, B.Matthews brunch and cocktail hour on the patio at the hotel nightly. Savannah Smiles dualing piano bar was closed Sunday and Monday nights so we missed that show but we did find a real Irishman singing and playing a guitar at Kevin Barry's bar downstairs. He was quite a hoot drinking his Espresso Martini that kept him awake as well drunk he said. Dad and Joe scouted out some cigar shops, I found the candy shops of course and mom is just always content getting her free USA Today crossword puzzle. lol. Apparently they do have cooking lessons at The Mansion hotel that dad wanted us ladies to sign up for but once again they weren't available on Sunday and Monday (the days we were there) Rats. However, it gave Joe and I a good idea to possibly look into cooking classes as a co-hobby together near our house. We both thought that might be fun some time. We just need to find the time to do it of course. As we left town, we felt as if we got to see and do everything we wanted to. We all had to get back and catch up on work and house chores and on top of that we had another long weekend out of town to prepare for again. Ready to get back to Texas for some holiday festivities and family fun. We love staying busy and getting out and about especially when we get to see our loved ones during that time!!

6-20-14 officially hitched! 20 week checkup & Chattanooga TN getaway...

Friday June 20th, was a busy and exciting day! We took off work and headed to our little intimate marriage ceremony in downtown Lawrenceville after getting our license at the courthouse & sealed our nuptials with a kiss! Hooray. I'm offically a Mann now :) Then immediately after we had a doctors appointment right up the street at 2pm. We quickly rushed over there in time for our sonogram and checkup. This was the anatomy evaluation to make sure he was growing properly and no visual deformities to worry about. We had already been to Storkvision so we knew that it was a boy and nothing seemed to look unusual or out of place but he had grown 3 more weeks since then and anything was possible so we were anxious to take another peek. We were blessed that all looked good on the screen and measurments matched up to the current expected due date Nov 3rd-5th. He is about 13 oz (almost a pound) and still uses his arm to cover his eyes when he's being looked at on the ultrasound as well as a wiggle worm in there. He flipped completely over in the middle of the session and we learned he is breech. Come on baby turn around in the coming months!! We have another quick home video of it on our Youtube channel. He looks like he already has big feet and long legs so no wonder I have been feeling those flutter kicks in my lower abdomen. Then after all the "everything looks a-okay" from the doctors, we headed downtown Atlanta for an evening at the Sundial as well as an overnight visit at the Westin to celebrate our new union and good news! The next morning we got up early and headed to Chattanooga for a small out of town getaway for more celebrating together. We stayed downtown on Chestnut Street with walking distance to local places. Since we just missed the Blue Moon cruise when we got up there right after 11am, we decided to have an early lunch at the Boathouse on the Tennessee River. With a full belly, we headed up to the infamous Ruby Falls. An indoor cavern with a waterfall located 1100 feet underneath the surface of Lookout Mountain discovered many years ago. They added a light show to music once you reach it after a 1/2 mile of walking through many unusual rock formations on the way. You get paired up with a large group of other visitors and all take the tour together. After waiting in line, you all take an elevator down to the very bottom and have a tour guide throughout the way. Once finished we headed back downtown and eventually to dinner at Bluewater for some seafood. Joe was so upset they completely ran out of dessert that night. Luckily I bought some rock candy, jawbreaker lollipop and sour jelly beans at Ruby Falls to hold over our sweet tooth. HA! While looking up coupons of more touristy things to do around town, we came across an ad for ghost tour that offered a ghost hunt. Oh my goodness, we both took one minute of laughing together and decided, "we need to do this" I mean how many other newlywed couples do you know go on a hunt for ghosts "ummm none" Exactly! We show up at the Read House down from our hotel at 9:30pm to meet up with our group. We are too shy to admit that's what we are there for so we wait around the corner until we are sure that is what everyone else is there for. I mean we didn't want to embarrass ourselves and ask strangers "Sooo you here for a ghost hunt too" and look ridiculous. Luckily they were all there for the same thing. The guide gave us some ghost monitor contraptions and told us about an app that was the most entertaining of them all called, Ghost Radar Classic" to download. It will tell you if a ghost is in the area and will shoot out one word at a time. Those words are supposed to be clues to what ghost is around you. We didn't realize til the next day driving 70 mph down I-75 that it might be false when we had a hit on our radar except it did say "Columbus" which is a city in GA. Either way, it seemed hilarious. I was only slightly weirded out by the fact we kept using the app for entertainment when we got home and I jokingly said "how weird would it be if it said the name of a dead relative" It wasn't a few minutes later that it said "Alice" and that was the name of my great aunt who my mom took care of until she passed away. She lived with my grandma Helen when my Papa Joe passed away. So we were close to her growing up and visited her often. It was the first time it said a real name. Oooooo!!! It was almost as ironic as the couple we ran into at Lenox mall, on our way back from Chattanooga. We had to stop downtown Atlanta and pick up a rug at Pottery Barn Kids for the nursery. As we were lugging it out and headed back towards the valet, we stopped in Sperry right by the exit. Joe wanted to look at dress shoes real quick for work. I turn around after a few minutes of shopping in there and a Spanish lady looks at us and says "hi" with a shy timid "I think we know each other" greeting. I kept wondering how I knew her. Then Joe and I at the same time realized it was her and her husband from Ruby Falls, they were in our group from the day before. We even had to tell the sales associate "oh my gosh, speaking of what we did this weekend, they were there too!!" So of all the people in a location 2 hours away at a mall, at the same store, and same time of day...for them to be there flipped us out. Just another one of the wacky coincidences we have encountered again. Also, I am sure it won't be the last in our lifetime together!! To be continued....lol. So the only other thing I left out from the busy weekend before I got sidetracked on the other stories was the stop at the annual Chattanooga Market Festival. So right before we headed back to Atlanta, they have a food festival mixed in with arts and crafts plus produce stands all in one downtown. We got there when it first opened at 11am. We enjoyed a little taste of everything from cinnamon peanuts, BBQ, hotdog, sweet tea, frozen lemonade, samples of pimento cheese and chicken salad to purchases of frozen dinners and homemade keylime and Italian creme cake slices. A few rows over we came across a lady who hand sews on character appliques to onesies. We got 3 of them for Baby Mann in sizes 3-6 and 6-12 months of Superman, Yoda, and Captain America (our soon to be lil superhero!)And before leaving, kept eyeing a pop up wooden store. It was a Rustic Country hand crafter who makes pictures, frames, bird houses and other nicknacks for a southern or western theme decor. We found the perfect wedding present to ship to Texas for Coy and Sandi's upcoming wedding in Blanco over the 4th of July!! Can't wait for that too...excited to see everyone again soon!!

Father's Day Championship Present !

June 15th , 2014....this may be a day that Daddy Joe remembers vividly and not just because it was his first unofficial father's day. It was the evening the Spurs won the NBA championship title. They triumphiantly beat the overglorified Miami Heat (LeBron and others) who knocked them out last year in the end. The Spurs came back strong and hard with a vengence and score to settle this year. We had been actively following the Spurs basketball finals each week, late games that kept us (ok I would fall asleep early on the couch or in bed) but Joe and now even Nana Fagan up and awake til the final midnight end to each game. In a 3 to 1 game winning lead , they pulled through with their 4th and almost 20 point final win to end the series last night. The San Antonio GA boys, Garrett and Joe celebrated in our living room with high fives and excited grins from their hometown team championship!! Even I fought the sandman to stay awake for this one. This was the most basketball I had watched in my life but now the only one I cared about...so congrats Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Ginobaldi....now that I know your names :) Now time to shop for Nana Fagan's flat brimmed white 2014 championship hat for her to flaunt sideways to Publix and the nail salon, lol

First weekend in June - Office Shenanigans, Registering, Laser Show & Golf

We had an "Is it 5'o clock on Friday yet" moment in the office around 4pm and decided to get into the sample room and see what we could entertain ourselves with. Joe had been dying to put on this Lakeland fire protective suit that resembled a space moon walker. So, don't be surprised if you also see this in October for a Halloween costume. This is just a funny, had to share post because it looks so ridiculous. Then on Saturday, Joe wanted to go grab some Father's Day presents since his buddy Garrett gave him a PGA card coupon. He grabbed some golf balls and a cigar holder (clamp) for the golf cart for "you know who" Pops Fagan, I even included a timeless stogie pic of the man with his vice. Joe was also kind enough to get some not just for my dad and himself but for Phil in our office who will be covering for us at work while we have our next doctor appointment and upcoming nuptials. Such a thoughtful guy!! Then right up the street from the PGA Superstore was Babies R Us. Most guys would complain or say "do I have to" but he didn't even bat an eyelash when I asked him if we could stop in to quick register for some items while we were in the area. It was his time to play "cashier" He took his laser beam scanner and wiped out the store with buzzes. Ok, I'm overexaggerating a bit but I think we have about 4 strollers, a few car seats and clothes on there that I'm not even sure will fit. About 91 items in all and I'm not exactly sure we got all we were supposed to?? Thanks to friends who have had babies recently to help us get it all straightened out soon. I was just thankful he toted along and was such an amazing dad for participating with me. Lil baby Joe will be appreciative to have such a hands on dad too! Then later that evening after dinner, it ended up not raining like it was supposed to so I thought it might be a nice night out to go see the infamous Stone Mountain Laser Show that only occurs on weekend nights during the summer. It is a state ritual to attend at least once. You sit out on the lawn, under the stars, there is a giant stone rock mountain carved with confederate historic men, Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, & Jefferson Davis. It is the highest relief sculture in the world. Then there are lasers on the mountain with music playing in the background. It is mostly about GA history and state teams as well as cartoon graphics for the kids. It ends with a fireworks show. And as far as attire, don't forget your glow sticks,bracelets and necklaces, don't worry, I made sure I was decked out! The following Sunday afternoon it continued to stay sunny out so we went golfing near the house at Collins Hill golf course. I say "we" but I was just the photographer / cart girl to keep Joe company. He wanted me to tag along and entertain him as well as help hunt balls that went outside the main course.haha. The one ball I found was a Titlest that someone had put a heart and arrow on in pen. I had to keepsake it, of course, it's bad luck not to. Only I would find a LOVE ball out there in the bushes. (especially since it was also the one day we accidentally dressed alike in navy blue shirts) Hey the family that dresses together, stays together. lol Anyways, it's a tough little course but Joe hit some great drives. The greens were still recovering from a rough winter (ice and snow storms) so putting wasn't his "A" game but all in all it was a nice and fun outing. Joe enjoyed practicing for future championship tournaments on another amateur course and I liked assisting, lol.

Pop goes the Weasel....

Wow, what a difference a month or so makes. Today is officially week 18 but exactly 5 more months to go til this little guy is born. The doctors expected due date is Nov 5th (which is ironic since Joe and I met exactly on Nov 5th of last year) You can't plan these things even if you tried as well as many other coincidences we have had along the way, too funny. Anyways, here is a 13 week pic and a current 18 week pic to show the difference. All my mom said was "just wait". I'm sure by early fall it will look like I swallowed a basketball.