A Neutral Nursery - not easy!!

Wow, looks the poll is leaning towards 'a girl!' Very interesting, especially since I am getting a lot of strangers coming up to me saying, "you're having a boy right?" This is going to be quite a surprise, because Albie and I have NO gut instincts! Over the weekend, we changed direction with the nursery. We decided to go with light colored furniture b/c it's really neutral and so much of our furniture is espresso stained, so we didn't want to over do it. Here is (I think) our final decision on the nursery. The bedding is sorta funky, but I think the bright colors will be fun!

Amanda & Frank Tie the Knot - in Mexico

Congratulations Team McKeon! I can't believe my baby sister is all grown up and married! She looked absolutely gorgeous and Frank looked handsome in his military 'dress blues'. She rode in on a horse drawn carriage and everything was fairy-tale perfect! Madeline (flower girl) didn't quite make it down the aisle b/c she was waiting in the back for the "horsey" to come back and was a little less interested in the wedding procession!

'Babymoon' in Mexico

We had such a nice family trip to Mexico for Amanda & Frank's wedding. Albie and I considered it our "babymoon" and tried to enjoy the last time we would be traveling carefree (i.e. sans kid/diapers/stroller/toys, etc.)! We took a day trip to a sight-seeing place called Xel-Ha and spent a wonderful day snorkeling and doing a nature hike. The baby bump got lots of attention in the bright pink swim suit that my mom bought me for mother's day. Albie also got me a new outfit to celebrate my first mother's day!

Planning for the Nursery

We've finally gotten serious about shopping for the nursery. The first two pics are of the two bedding sets that I think I've narrowed it down to. The last two are of furniture styles and colors. What do you think? I think we're going to get the coffee colored furniture, but the white may be cute too. Decisions, decisions!

Our First BBQ

To celebrate Albie's deck-building hard work & his 1st grill, we had some friends over for a BBQ! Here is a fellow prego, Rosanna at 22 weeks and I am 24 weeks. (She's an Italian shortie, so I look like a beast next to her.) The gals kicked back and watched a movie while the guys played poker.

Amanda's Bachelorette Party

The bridal shower evolved into the bachelorette party, and we went from the winery to the swanky club, Blue. The key to a good bachellorette party, (I've learned from Michelle McIntyre's and Amy Shurr's) is to have a party bus. In our family, we didn't have to go further than the Play School and we had our Ride! It was hilarious to have 20+ ladies 'bumping' around Indianapolis in the Stoney Creek bus, but probably not necessarily good for mom's business. LOL

Family Resemblance??

Here are some other notable shots from the weekend. Madeline, Becky's daughter (almost 2 years old) was hilarious. She's talking like crazy and is into her Cinderella high heels and playing dress up in her tu-tu. Here she is playing with Amanda's bachelorette party whip. Oh no, she's going to be a handful! I think this sums up the one reason Albie is hoping for a boy! :)

Amanda's Bridal Shower

We had an awesome time at Amanda's bridal shower on April 20th in Indianapolis. The shower was at the Easley Winery downtown. (Torture for the two prego maids of honor!) All of Amanda's friends from high school and college were so much fun. With unlimited wine tasting and great food, everyone had an awesome time! What a beautiful bride!

Frank and Amanda are getting married on May 14th in Riviera Maya. Can't wait!

In other exciting news, Becky & Nathan are having their 2nd baby. Becky's due October 22nd, just 8 weeks after us! Congrats Knutson's! (In this shot, I'm 23 & Becky is 15 weeks.)

Also, note how good the M.O.B. looks, she's lost 40+ lbs and is in top shape for this wedding! Way to go, Mom, we're so proud of you!

Bob Schwartz's Deck Building Tour Accross the Country

The tour started in Indiana, where we hosted Amanda's bridal shower & bachelorette party on April 20th. In the meantime, Dad & Frank were building a deck onto their new home in Noblesville. The funniest part was hearing the 'colorful commentary' as Frank is a Lutenient in the Army and Dad was a Seargent, therefore, out-ranked by his future son-in-law.

Next, I rode home to Philly with Dad, where Albie & Dad built deck #2 off the back of our row-home. Given our space constraints, it is a pretty small deck, but we maximized space & it's an awesome addition to our home. Way to go guys, it looks gorgeous!

March Madness

Other big news:
1) 2007 College Basketball Tournament - I came out of the first round in first place, but it was Albie who came from 28th position to lock up the WIN for the 2007 Men's College Basketball pool at our office. Way to bring home the bacon, Big Daddy Al!
2) In January, Albie took the final part of the CPA exam & PASSED! So, we are both officially nerdy CPA's! Here we are at Vetri (an amazing Italian restaurant that we've been dying to try) spending the basketball winnings and celebrating Albie's new credentials!

Busy Season = Busy Mom

While I been busy at work, this baby has been busy growing! Here I am at 19 weeks. During March, Emily Martin came to Philly to visit and see our new place. We spent the weekend low-key and managed to knock out her taxes.

Guerra Cousin's Day

This was the 2nd Annual Guerra Cousin's day at Lori & Dan's house. There were plenty of kids running around, and many games of pool, but mostly we did a lot of eating!!! LOL. In the mix, 3 Guerra's are currently expecting: Carollee in April and Lori and I in August. Watch out Chris, Becki and Tricia, it's in the water!!!

Belly Shot - Week 14

This is at 14 weeks and none of my pants will zip or button. That's why I've enlisted the help of the "belly band." It's allowed me to wear my normal clothes for a few more weeks. I consider this the time when I've officially begun "showing."

This week we also had our 2nd doctor's appointment to listen to the baby's heart beat. It was incredible, like galloping horses! Little Vaughn's heart beat was in the 150's (which some people say means it's a girl). I wish I had a picture of Albie's face, he looked so excited and proud!

New York Weekend (2-16-07)

I headed up to New York to see Emily and Lisa, and Michelle, Amy, and Mike were in town from Chicago. It was so wonderful to have a girls weekend! Here we are at Buddakan Friday night. Saturday brunch at the Euro Dinner, and Micki and I getting cupcakes from Magnolia bakery on Saturday. It's pretty funny to cheers with a Sprite instead of a Miller Lite!

My Shopping Spree: Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!

Really, you should feel bad for me, because all of a sudden none of my pants fit! The belly band could only get me so far because I need shirts long enough to hide it. (Cue violin music...). So, this is what they refer to by the term "popped." In response, I hit the stores searching for cute clothes with expandable waists.

I made sure to get Albie a couple of things too (new boxers) in hopes that it would overshadow the new bag that I didn't exactly need. Then, I layed everything out, ready to give Albie a true fashion show, complete with a pillow to simulate my future belly. And the best part, he didn't make me return anything!