bright autumn sun

Here are some photos that I took when we were walking around Brookine, MA after Dan & Liza’s wedding. It is definitely worth clicking on these to see them bigger, especially the flowers. Everything in Boston is so bright, especially the flowers. There were SO many different types of plants and flowers that I had never seen as they don’t grow in Florida. It was gorgeous!

We took nearly 1,000 pictures on this trip so there will definitely be lots more to come!!

It has been a long time since I attended a wedding as a guest!! My cousin Dan got married to Liza last weekend and we had a great time at their wedding in Boston, MA. Here are a few of my favorite photos from their wedding, which I took photos of with my Point & Shoot camera - a Canon G7! It was fun not having to do all the work (their photographer was Scott Metzger in Boston) but of course, being me, I had to take tons of photos!

Mazel Tov, Danny & Liza!!!

As I posted last week, Adrian and I are going to be having a little boy!

We finally had a chance to scan the ultrasound photos, so here they are!

This first one is Baby Z’s profile. It’s not a typical profile shot, because he was moving around SO much (maybe we have an athlete-to-be!), but you can clearly make out his head at the top, his spinal column, and even see arms and legs. So neat! I am pretty amazed every day that this little human being is growing inside me. This ultrasound was so different from the first one we saw at about eight weeks. I remember feeling that it felt so much more real to see the tiny tadpole-like figure on the ultrasound screen… now, seeing the outline of what looks like a real baby feels absolutely incredible!!

This second photo is the baby’s heart and heartbeat. The ultrasound tech measured his heartbeat at 150bpm - which is perfect for a baby boy!

Adrian and I have a pretty exciting week ahead of us. Today at 7am we are flying out to Boston to see my cousin Danny get married to his fiancée Liza. I am so happy for them and can’t wait to see my first cousin get married! Tuesday is my birthday, which we’ll spend in Boston as well, having dinner in Cambridge at the Cambridge Brewing Company with a bunch of my friends!

The next day, we’ll take the train down to New York City and stay with Lissa & Brij (Adrian’s sister and brother-in-law). I haven’t been to New York since I was a child, so it will be really fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the planetarium, visiting ground zero, and of course seeing some friends. It will also be great to spend more time with Lissa & Brij, too! Of course all of the cameras are coming along for this trip. I’m hoping to do some street shooting in NYC and have an opportunity to be 100% creative!

As of tomorrow, I’m 20 weeks pregnant. I can’t believe how quickly the past few months have flown by, and we are now at the halfway mark of the pregnancy!!! It seems like just yesterday that Adrian and I were telling our families, and now our little pumpkin seed is already the length of a banana according to babycenter.com!

Here’s what else Babycenter has to say about our little boy at 20 weeks:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He’s also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby’s legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the “crown to rump” measurement. After 20 weeks, he’s measured from head to toe.)

He’s swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He’s also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you’ll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

There is also a fetal development diagram. Pretty amazing how I am carrying another living being around inside me!!!

And, since I like including a photo, here is a cute picture I took last night of Maya giving the baby some love!

Today is my and Adrian’s fourth wedding anniversary! I can’t believe our wedding was just four years ago, and we’ve been together for six years now. It feels like a whole lifetime. I love you, Adrian!

I can’t wait til next year when we’ll get to share the holiday and our anniversary with our little baby boy!

The ultrasound went great and we were able to tell immediately that we are having a little boy!!! We are all very excited… can’t wait to start planning (aka go shopping)!!!

Tomorrow, at 3pm, we’ll hopefully be finding out whether our little one is a boy or a girl! Keep your fingers crossed that the baby is in position for his or her ultrasound!

Until then… here is my 18 and a half week belly!

This past Saturday night, Adrian and I went to Forte Palm Beach to have dinner with my good friend Melissa and her family to celebrate her engagement and birthday. The food was incredible and we had a great time catching up. I can’t believe Melissa and I have been friends for 15 years!

Melissa & Mike:

Melissa & her two sisters Tiffany & Cassie

Me and Melissa

Congrats to you guys! I can’t wait for your wedding next year!!

some more personal work from today - exploring my backyard.

18 weeks today. I can barely see my feet if I look straight down! I can still see them if I lean over… but I’m sure that won’t be true for long.

Ultrasound in one week to (hopefully) find out the sex of our little baby. Keeping our fingers crossed that the little one is in the right position for the picture show!

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night… and REALLY felt the baby move for sure for the first time. It felt like the inside of my belly was a little timpani drum being drummed on by the baby.

I just felt it again, actually. So amazing!