8 months old!

playing with the blanket
Sharing half birthday with his cousins
Loves to stick his tongue out
Chillin' after breakfast
Ready for some food!

Wow. I can't believe time's gone by so quickly! CJ is growing from the once tiny, pirate-eyed baby that I could hold in my arms while fast asleep to an active, babbling little boy. He no longer lays still in my arms, but is always wiggling around trying to absorb everything he can from the world. I love to watch him play on the floor with his toys. He hasn't learned to crawl just yet, but that doesn't stop him from getting places. He often rolls or scoots to where he wants to go. He is saying 'dada' and seems to associate that with Joe. He also says 'baba.' We are working hard on 'mama' as that of course is most important! ;) He gets the lip movement right but can't figure out the mmm sound yet. A work in progress! I can't believe how fast he's growing. He's developing a personality, as well as a temper! He is not afraid to pitch a fit when he doesn't get what he wants. Haha. He is enamored with Ollie, one of our cats. They are best buddies. Clark is learning the limits of what he can get away with and what he can't, especially when it comes to petting/pulling Ollie. He loves to eat! Can't get enough of the fruits.. not so much the veggies. Every time I look at him I just am in awe. How such a little guy can change our life. He loves to play in his crib, talking to all his friends hehe We have this crazy connection. I usually wake up once a night (he's sleeping through the night!) and it's like he knows I'm up. And then he will wake up and I'll just fall asleep to him babbling and playing with his pacifier. He clinks it against the bars like he's an inmate! It's the funniest thing. His face lights up when Joe goes in in the morning to get him, and then immediately starts freaking out when he sees the bottle I'm making for him. I love him more than I ever could imagine. I used to wish when he was younger and waking up so often, that I could have my previous life back where I could sleep all day and never have to worry about anything. Now, that wish has faded. And I wish for new things. I can't wait until CJ starts crawling and walking and talking! I'm sure I'll look back and bite my tongue, but that just seems so awesome to me! Witnessing him figuring out how to crawl, cruising around and then walking. I want us to have a yard for him to play in. We have been looking at some houses, just wish PR wasn't so expensive! But it's where we want to stay; it's close to both parents and friends. We found a nice house within walking distance to the park, the swimming pool, the community center, and my previous job, the school. It has a nice backyard, 4 bedrooms! a basement. Who knows if we will go any further with that one, but worth looking at. We are looking forward to CJ having his cousin be born, so he will have someone to play with (and share some of the spotlight with...) We plan on having more kids some day. Not sure what He has planned for us yet. We are just living life and loving every minute of it.

As baby cross prepares to enter the world, I figure I'd squeeze in one more blog before his arrival. I finally figured out how to post pictures! Here is 'Chubbles,' as Aunt Jenn refers to him, at 20 weeks. 

Here he is at 13 weeks: 

As Joe is out Christmas shopping, I'm having some quiet time to myself. I am soaking up this quiet time before I no longer am by myself at home. I have a huge range of emotions and thoughts going on in my head. I am embarking on a major life change, one I always dreamed I'd go through, but never actually figured it'd be possible. I always pictured myself carrying our baby. I imagined how it would feel like to first feel him kick, to move around, to hear his heart beating on the monitor. I pictured Joe placing his hands on my belly and the two of us talking to him every day. God, however, had other plans for us. After dragging my feet and wondering 'why me' I finally let it all go and let God take control. I knew there was a reason He did not want me to carry our baby myself. He had a plan for me, a woman for Joe and I. Thinking back, what a journey it has been. It seems like a distant memory when our first cycle was canceled because I over stimmed and produced too many follicles. What a painful time that was. We felt like our dreams were shattered. The silver lining was we were able to grow closer with C and her family. It gave us more time to get to know each other, in the rawest of times. It only strengthened our bond. Now it seems like such a distant memory. Almost as if it was a dream. Now we approach our 39th week of pregnancy, and he is days away from entering our lives. 

I went through a period a few weeks ago where I was overwhelmingly depressed and lost. I chalk it up to all the hormone type meds that I am on. Don't misunderstand me when I say that, I just wanted a few more weeks of "freedom." I felt like my life was over. I was very anxious of the impending huge responsibility and new life that would depend on me every second of every day. That scared me a bit. I was leaving work, the close friends I had made over the past year and a half, as well as the people I finally began to connect with at work. I felt so alone. Joe is continuing to work, where I would be left home alone with the baby every day, every night. That frightened me. So I had a few days of carefree fun. 

Then I reconnected with an old college friend whose words, whether she knew it or not, really put things in my life in perspective. God placed her, as well as a book I bought, into my life for a reason. I felt that everything that had been happening was meant to happen. I was tested, and I passed. The book touched my heart, touched places where I thought the light had dimmed. I was meant to read that book. God was speaking to me through this story. And here I am now. Fully prepared to step up to my duty in life, to be a mother! To be a teacher, mentor, cheerleader, friend, mommy to my newborn son. God is truly amazing. He say me straying and struggling and threw me a life vest. And to Him I am eternally grateful. You cannot regret your mistakes, just use them as life lessons, to grow from them. 

My heart is smiling. I know I will face struggles, sleepless nights, but I know it is possible to charge forward and be stronger in the end. I know I will need to ask for help, and in doing so, it does not make me a failure, as a mom, a Christian, a wife. 

God is awesome. Please pray for our baby as he enters into our open, loving arms December 12. We are meeting C at the hospital at 8 am. The end is in sight! After a long 16 months+, he is finally coming! Bags are packed, car seat is installed. Ollie and Lana are in for a surprise! Ha ha 

We are bringing our computer to the hospital, so we will keep you all updated as soon as possible. 

Thanks everyone for your prayers, well wishes, encouragement, support!! We love you all and appreciate it all!

Until then, 

Lis n Joe
 

When I started this blog, I pictured myself writing on it everyday, or at least, every time we had an update. As many know, I am, to a fault, a perfectionist, when it comes to writing anything meaningful, or scrap booking, or any type of crafty project. I have been staring at a blank blog screen for months now trying to find the "perfect" words to describe our journey thus far. As you can tell, I have not been struck with any poetic wording or Pulitzer Price writing. So while Joe is out searching for something for the baby's room, I figured while I had some alone time I would get my thoughts down. Where to start. . .?

I guess I will just start from May 29. It seems so long ago, but at the same time, like it was yesterday. We are now 27 weeks 3 days. Only 12, plus change, weeks to go! Everything has been going very well for both the baby and C. We had a nuchal scan, which is early detection for different types of disorders including downs, spina bifida, as well as several others I believe. He was measuring perfectly. The blood work came back normal. So we were able to breath a sigh of relief. C and her mom were at that appointment. I was, sadly, in Hilton Head, SC so I missed the appointment. They got a sneak peak of chub chub's (who is measuring now on a smaller side, so not so chub chubs anymore) gender. It was so exciting receiving the picture messages! And hearing the excitement in C's voice telling me we were having a son! I couldn't wait to call Joe, who was back at home. Although he was at work, he seemed overjoyed! He secretly really was rooting for a boy. He he. Although the u/s tech cautiously advised us that his gender was not 100% just yet, my mom, aunt, cousins and I wasted no time and bought some of baby cross' outfits! We had to celebrate somehow. :-)  

Fast forward a couple months, 20 weeks. Our next *big* appointment, our final ultra sound and Joe's first one! The crummy weather was not going to dampen the day for the three of us. We arrived at the doctor's office with some nerves. In the back of our minds, we kept wondering 'what if.' What if baby cross is a girl? Of course, we'd be excited, just disappointed that we'd already gotten our hopes up. Oh, and I must add, we spent at least 6 hours painting his room. Blue paint is a difficult one to paint with. It took Joe (I gave up after the 2nd coat) 7 or 8  coats, not including priming the wall to paint 2 walls. Ridiculous, but totally worth it! The walls look awesome. Okay, back to the ultra sound appointment. Even though we did not have the greatest, friendliest tech, it was still a memorable u/s. We were able to see the four chambers of his heart. His brain. All 10 fingers and toes. His long legs. Oh, and his penis. Enter sigh of relief here. Ha ha. We were given some great pictures. He looks amazing. It's hard to grasp how 10 weeks earlier he barely looked like a little human being, and now we saw his face and little nose. It's funny.. In one side view shot, he looks totally like a Manzi. Nose, eyes, everything. Makes me giggle when I'm having a bad day. And then he looks totally like Joe in the rest of the pictures. His nose changes and looks like a little button nose, trademark to Joe and his sister and mom. So I cannot wait to see him for real! He'll be perfect no matter who's nose he has ;-) 

C started to be able to feel him kick and move around July 9, to be exact. I can't wait until we can feel him. I hear he is a little stinker already. He moves mostly when C is laying down or "sleeping", so she often is unable to sleep. He is measuring on the smaller side, in the 25-50 percentile with measurement. So I'm hoping he starts to put on some weight and moves higher in C so we can feel him easier and more often. 

On another note, we are almost finished with his room. We just got the bedding, his bumper, quilt, rug, curtains, and curtain rods. We are setting up the dresser next weekend with Aunt Jenn, as she has proven to be pretty handy with putting things together. We set up the crib a couple months ago; we, meaning Joe and Jenn. I handed them the pieces they needed and the tools as well. Otherwise, I just looked pretty with the cats. :-P We will probably be getting the mattress within the month. Then we will be all set with his room. His mommy and daddy have been hard at work decorating his room with assembled lego figures. We enjoy working on them and displaying them in his room. Don't worry, they are on shelves out of his reach. We have also taken a liking to Mighty Muggs, which are "action" figures of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Spiderman, boys' types of interests. And when baby cross is old enough, they will be his to play with. So the room is looking awesome; it is everything and more of what we imagined it to look like. I can't wait to bring him home to his special room. 

In case you were wondering, we did pick out his name. We are keeping it to ourselves until he arrives. We figured we already all know his gender, might as well keep something a surprise :-) 

I want to post the pictures from the last two ultra sounds (the 13 week, and the 20 week). I need Joe's help scanning them onto the computer, so when he gets home I will make sure he scans them in so I can then post them here. See if you can tell which picture I'm taking about that he looks like a true Manzi. Hopefully I'm not imagining it ha ha.  

  ... So check back for more updates. :-)

10 weeks 6 days

We are now 10 weeks, 6 days. We had our first OB appointment yesterday afternoon. It went really well. They did an ultrasound and we got to see chub chubs. Looking more and more like a little baby! So amazing. He/she is now 3.6 centimeters long! My heart is just so full of love for him/her already. C has been feeling, for the most part, well with the occasional bad days of morning sickness and yuckyness. We are keeping our eyes on the 18 week marker, when hopefully all the stomach issues will vanish, and we can both just enjoy the pregnancy together! :-) She has been so amazing so far. God is truly awesome. He has blessed us with such a great woman and I can't say it enough. C and I went out to dinner after our appointment and had a very nice time together. I am excited to see our friendship develop and flourish into an amazing sisterly bond that will never fade. I have kickball tonight, so I must go. I will blog more later! :-) Enjoy the picture of our chub chubs. 

Heyyy :-)

I (Joe too) decided to start a blog so our family and friends can keep up to date with our new family's doings! We are having a baby! We are due December 19, 2008. We are both very excited for our new addition to our (new) family :-) As many of our family already knows, I will not be carrying our little bean, who we nicknamed 'chub chubs'. I really wanted to, but it wasn't in the cards for us, right now at least. Thankfully, God blessed us with a wonderful woman who will be our gestational surrogate. Chub chubs is genetically ours, who will be taken care of by an amazing woman, C, for the next 7 months. We met her through an agency back in October. Over the months, our friendship has developed into more of a sister relationship! She is an amazing person who has 4 children of her own, a great supportive husband, as well as wonderful supportive parents. We are truly blessed to be close to all of them. God has worked wonders in our lives and we cannot wait to see what lies ahead. We had our third ultrasound last weds, which showed one healthy heartbeat of 155! C is being released by our RE (reproductive embroyologist) and is able to start fresh with a new OB. We are not sure when our first appointment will be, as OB's usually do not see patients until they are 10 or so weeks along. We are 8 weeks, 1 day. But we are very excited for the next ultrasound. Joe has not seen chub chubs on the u/s screen yet, so hopefully he will be able to soon. As far as finding the sex out, we decided we will. It would be too hard to wait. We have been going back and forth (actually just I have hehe). Since C will know, we figured we want to know too! hehe That ultrasound will be around the end of July, beginning of August. So be on the lookout! :-)

We will be updating on here as often as possible! :-)