Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! So much to be thankful for in our lives. I hope today that we all take some time to reflect on those things and cherish our family and friends.

It's a boy!

We found out on Monday that we are having a little baby boy. How incredible it was to see the change in size and body parts since the last ultrasound. They grow so quickly and as I understand it, it continues even outside of the womb!

We have selected a name: Maddox Lennon Janulewicz

Amazingly, many have expressed a dislike for the name. To each their own, too bad for them though, because we love it and Maddox Lennon he shall remain.

We were having difficulty selecting a male name. We wanted a unique name, yet found ourselves drawn to common names, such as Jacob. When we saw Maddox in the baby name book, it immediately struck us. We knew that was the name. A middle name came quickly. We liked the name Lennon all along, but did not prefer it as a first name. When Hubs put the two names together, we knew right away, we had found our boy name. Lennon comes with some added bonuses, besides the fact that we both loved the name,: We both are quite fond of The Beatles, thus the John Lennon connection. Also, my father's side of the family has a few members of the family with "Lennon" as the last name. I would love to be able to say that we did this in memory of those who have passed; however, honestly it had no bearing. We had made a conscious decision that we would not use family names. It seems to cause animosity and sadness amongst families when some are honored and others are not.

We never did figure out a middle name should the baby have been a girl, but perhaps that is because we didn't need a middle name for our girl name.

I am pretty clueless it turns out

I think I am feeling the baby. That's right, I think. I truly have no way of knowing. Is it gas? Is it nerves? Or is Baby J adjusting his/her position?

No one gives the same answer either, on what I should expect to feel. Even books are very vague. The Dr H's suggestion was to jot down on the calender the first time I felt the baby, then through process of elimination, ultimately would be able to determine IF I am in fact feeling Baby J.

To me, IF it is the baby I am feeling, then it feels kind of like a fishie swimming around. Weird, I know, but hey that's me.

Hopefully my skills of a mother will have no bearing on whether I can figure this out. My instinct tells me that I am feeling Baby J, but many have said that it is too soon. I am rounding out the end of Week 17 currently.

What feelings did you experience?? Did you ever wonder if you would be a great mother?

I have always believed that my destiny in life was to be a wife and a mother. Because of that, I have always felt I would be a great mother. (I have already proven the "great wife" portion, haha) Sometimes though, I find myself fearful that I will not know how to do everything or have the answers for everything. Again, from what I have read, these feelings can be common in pregnant women.

Thankfully, Hubs and I have a strong support system of family and friends, who are sure to love Baby J ALMOST as much as Hubs and I do.

That's my ramblings for today. Excited for this evening, as Hubs returns from a business trip! Life is good on so many levels...so much to be thankful for this holiday season, but hey, that's another post.

Just wondering...

As my belly gets bigger, will I still be able to shave my legs?!?

Does Baby J feel scared and stressed when I do?

These are the two random things on my mind today. The shaving of the legs element came to light as I was shaving my legs. I realized my belly was out a lot more than I am used to, and suddenly wondered how that will work over the next 5 months.

Nice productive day here in our world. I even wrote out about half of our Christmas cards!

Nor'Easter

Baby J is experiencing his/her first Nor'Easter here in Virginia. It is a cold 56 degrees outside, windy and rainy. Wait, did I mention that it was rainy??

Unfortunately, I had some morning sickness this morning. Blah! Started today off at the doctor's for a routine blood test. It still cracks me up, that I actually spend less time at the doctor's office now than I did when we were trying to get pregnant. Always good to see the nurses though...they make me smile and seem so genuinely excited for our pregnancy.

Work was also a quite productive and rewarding day. One our interns and I did a lot of clean up from last weekends events and some MUCH NEEDED organizing in the warehouse!

Now, Hubs and I are off to the Olive Garden for a little date night, then picking up some groceries-- Hubs is always worried during storms. He feels the need to stock up.

Baby names

So, can I just tell you first off, how excited Hubs and I are to learn the sex of little Baby J on the 23rd!!! The 23rd is the anniversary of the day we got engaged, so it will be such an incredibly special day for us.

We have picked names for each sex.

Boy: Maddox Lennon Janulewicz

Girl: Julia (Love) Janulewicz

Julia's middle name is still under debate. Joe was not a big fan of Love, so any suggestions would be greatly accepted and appreciated.

I **Heart** Weddings

One of my BFFs just called me to let me know she and her fiance have set a date to get married! I cannot begin to tell you the excitement that I am feeling, even though her good news came with some bad news as well though. I will not be able to be in the wedding or even attend. Not because she doesn't want me there of course, but because her wedding is on May 1, 2010 and Baby J is due on April 23, 2010. Pooh Bear and Fredster will be getting married in their hometown, which is a good 11 hours away from me. How exciting will the next 6 months be though!?! Pooh Bear planning her wedding and me getting ready for our family's new addition!


Here is a picture of she and I from my wedding:

And she and I at my most recent trip back to Massachusetts:
Congratulations you guys! Love you!!!