Update: More gifts for Baby Ava!

I wanted to keep up with my Ava updates for family and friends (especially to say an extra special Thank You besides the 'Thank You' cards that I send...)

Shortly after Mark and I made our baby registry, we received a gift from our good friend, Billy Sandidge. Billy went to high school with me at St. Thomas Aquinas and is now a friend and co worker to Mark. Both me and Billy have favorite pictures of ourselves in sailor outfits as babies, so he sent a nautical baby dress that we had registered for! Ava will look precious in this dress. I can't wait. 

These are two more little outfits from Mark's mom, Debbie. :-)

These are 7 outfits (just the beginning from what I was told) from my dad and my step mother. 

During Ali & Lee Baker's wedding weekend in Chicago 2 weeks ago, Sarah Waldrup surprised me with a beautiful, handmade baby blanket. She chose a pink a mint green one to match her nursery. 

Thank You, Panda!

And here we have some not so glamorous gifts (BUT MUCH NEEDED ONES) from my mom - baby wipes! And LOTS of them - over 1,000 wipes! She is buying in bulk. So Ava will have a clean tush for a while... :) 

 And just today, I had a dentist appointment for a 6 month cleaning. I started going to Dr. Jeson when Mark and I got married. He and his family have been going to Dr. Jeson since they moved down to Florida when Mark was little. They are a small office off of Commercial Blvd. and Bayview Drive in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Dr. Jeson's wife even works in the office and bakes cookies on a daily basis for all of their patients! They are the kind of people that remember things you say and can't wait to hear how your school, wedding, job, or pregnancy is going. As soon as I walked in, they all ran up to see my belly. I feel like you just don't get that "small town" feel a lot anymore from your local businesses. When I finished up with my appointment, scheduled my next appointment (for a time in the afternoon that my mom could stay with Ava! - It was a surreal scheduling moment for me!)  they had a gift waiting for Mark and I. We got a very cute pop up card and a baby book and rattle set. So very thoughtful of them. 

  

                     

So if you're looking for a great dentist and a friendly staff, Dr. Jeson, D.D.S. is wonderful. 

 If you decide to go to Dr. Jeson- tell them Mark and Christina McGuire sent you! :) 

 Thank you to all that have been sending gifts for our Ava. We are in the middle of moving right now and could not be more excited to start on her nursery! I will post pictures when it is complete. 

In Loving Memory of John Rocky Adams

I would just like to take a moment to reflect on a loss that came far too soon. Mark and I have been very sad since yesterday when we were told that our very close friend, Jacki Adams Roche, lost her father over the weekend. I will leave the details and beautiful words to describe this great man to his daughter.  Jacki also has a blog, and has written a beautiful  post about her father. Whether you had the honor of knowing Rocky or not, you can read about a great man and a daughter's love for her father in this post. 

Link:

 Wine Down: In Loving Memory

This is my favorite memory of Rocky...He was walking Jacki down the aisle crying. Jacki was smiling (and even laughing a bit) because of her daddy's pride and pure joy in those special moments. 

Jacki, 


Mark and I would just like to say again that we love you very much and will always be here for you and Jared in anything that you may need now and always. Your father was always so welcoming to us and always made us feel like we were a part of your beautiful family. Having the honor to first meet Rocky when we were in our first years of college, I could tell immediately that he was a very special person. His charisma and personality were one to strive to have. Those around him always felt included and welcome by his warmth and contagiously upbeat energy. Mark and I feel privileged to have known Rocky, and will be keeping you, Jared, and your families in our prayers. See you this weekend, friend. Love you very much. 


-Mark & Christina 

Rocky with Mark and the boys at Jared & Jacki's home for Memorial Day 2010

What Ava Looks Like at 24 Weeks!

Today we are at Week...

Just looking back and seeing how far we have come since Feb. 29th, 2012 when I learned that Mark and I were expecting! From the size of a poppy seed to now the size of a cantaloupe...

Ava is now a little over a pound and almost 1ft. long. Her brain is growing quickly now, she can hear me and outside noises, and her taste buds and lungs are continuously developing.

Ava at 9 weeks - Seeing her heartbeat!

Ava at 13 weeks - Seeing her jump around!

These photos below are not of Ava, but I looked up what a 24 week fetus looks like and here we are today: 

Crazy, huh? I can't believe she is that big right now! At this point, she could survive if heaven forbid she was born this early, but there would be a very high risk of complications and still chances of not surviving. It feels like yesterday that I was reading about how she was the size of a "poppy seed" or "apple seed" and now she is the size of a whooping "cantaloupe!"

Keep growing, little one! We have 16 weeks to go! 

Reflecting on Feeling Ava's Movements

As I mentioned before, I will be writing these "reflections" or moments that I want to remember in the future to share with Ava one day. Pregnancy is going by so quickly already, and I want to remember all of it. Plus, blogging is a much easier and cheaper way for me to capture all of this rather than me running to buy scrap booking supplies every other day... So here we are...

Tommy & Luke are the 1st to feel Ava!

I wanted to write a little something about how I have been feeling lately now that I am feeling Ava move all the time. About a week or two ago I started feeling questionable, light movements, and now her movements are without a doubt HER! Last Wednesday I was watching Tommy & Luke while my mother in law went to physical therapy for her recent knee surgery when Ava really started moving. I asked Tommy to come over and put his hand on my stomach where it seemed her hand was poking me... As we waited for another movement, I told Tommy that I wouldn't tell him when she moved so that I could see if he could really feel it on his own. Sure enough, a couple seconds later his EYES WIDENED and he started laughing exactly when I felt her poking me. We were both laughing and excited that other people could finally feel her! Right away, Luke ran over and said he wanted to see if he could feel Ava move. He placed his hand in the same spot and was also able to feel her. Both boys, Ava's uncles, were giggling and very excited that they were they were the first, besides myself, to feel her move!

The couple of pictures below are Tommy and Luke making origami animals (their new favorite thing.) They have started to make Ava a mobile for her crib. We chose some pretty colors for the paper, and they are now learning how to make them into different animals.

Origami lessons on YouTube

Luke - hard at work

And thanks to friends and family, I now have 5 different baby books to read. I am going to be a mommy genius by the end of these! :) 

These are some pictures of Ava growing. This is me at 23 weeks and will be 24 weeks tomorrow, Wednesday, July 17th 2012. These photos below are from this past weekend in Chicago. I flew up with Mark on Thursday morning for my best friend's wedding.  I will be creating a whole other blog post about her amazing wedding just as soon as her professional photos are done. 

Heading out for a night in the city with Sarah

Meeting up with Aldo for lunch!

Catching up with Megan <3 in the bridal suite the morning of the wedding. She was amazed because this was the first time she had seen me in person with a baby bump!


Sarah feels Ava! 

 As we were all in the bridal suite getting our hair & make up done, we were eating breakfast and watching Craig Watson and his extraordinary photography team catch every single moment. Just as Sarah Waldrup and I are sitting on the couch, Ava starts kicking! I quickly grabbed Sarah's hand and placed it on the spot. (We had already had a few failed attempts of Sarah being able to feel her.) Somehow Craig Watson must have seen this or heard us because he quickly ran over and started taking photos of Sarah's  amazement to feeling Ava move. It was a moment that I will never forget with my best friend. I cannot wait to see Craig's photos of that moment!

A picture taken by a friend during Alexandra & Lee's wedding ceremony in St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Such a beautiful day. More photos to come soon...

Mark feels Ava!

The morning after the wedding, we headed to Midway airport to wait for our delayed flight back to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. After we ate lunch at Harry Caray's in the airport, we took some seats at our terminal and started talking to this really nice older couple from Key Largo, FL. We mostly talked about boating since they had a full time captain and traveled all over on their yacht and fishing boat (must be nice!). They also talked about their memories of raising their children and how many great things that Mark and I had up ahead. We talked to them for about an hour when Ava started jabbing my with what I am guessing was a her hand. I asked them to excuse my interrupting them, but that I wanted Mark to put his hand on my belly. Up until this point, Ava would always stop moving when Mark would go to feel her move... So right then and there and gives Mark two little jabs! Mark's eyes lit up and he started laughing as he said, "I just felt her!!!... and she did it again!!!" I was SO happy that he   finally got to experience that. 

So here we are today and Ava has been moving around this morning as I was waking up, while I was eating breakfast, and also started moving around when I was typing this up. Now that I know she can hear me and other outside noise, I catch myself talking to her when she starts to move around. :) I know she doesn't know what it is that I am saying, but I want her to hear and get to know my voice. She definitely knows Cooper by now (as he barks like crazy when he hears Mark's car when he gets home from work.) 

I will say that this has been the most incredible two weeks so far. Feeling your baby's movements for the first time is the most amazing and indescribable feeling. I have been so calm, stress free, and relaxed these days. So far, Ava has been really good to me. No sickness, no big time weight gain or crazy cravings, etc. I am only 24 weeks along though - so stay tuned... things may change :-/ 

As of now, I am loving feeling her move around and I literally smile ear to ear when she is doing it. Being pregnant with her has made me the calmest and most relaxed that I think I have ever been in my life. It is one thing to watch your belly grow and know that something amazing is happening inside of you, but it is another to actually FEEL your baby moving around inside of you! It makes it all very real and special. Imagining that there is this tiny little girl in there that is half of me and half of Mark is mind blowing to me. What is she going to be like? Look like? Act like? ...A mini "Christina/Mark" ...crazy!

 I look forward to her getting even bigger and making stronger movements for us. 

I love you so much already, Ava Loren. Your daddy is very happy that he finally got to feel you move on Sunday! Daddy calls home and asks how you are and kisses my belly all the time. We can't wait to meet you! Enjoy the next 16 weeks alone in there, because come November you will be getting a ton of attention! 

The 4th of July

I hope that everyone had a great Fourth of July! 

Mark and I spent the 4th with his parents and little brothers at the Coral Ridge Yacht Club in Ft. Lauderdale during the earlier afternoon and then with some friends at one of their new homes in Parkland after that. I made Mark promise the day before to take me to the beach later that night after we hung out with everyone... The BIG beach fireworks are my favorite part. :) So at the end of the night, we made our way to Atlantic Blvd. and A1A in Pompano Beach to watch the beach fireworks with some cookie dough ice cream in hand. A perfect summer night. 

  I wasn't really taking a lot of pictures yesterday, but here are a few that I did take...

 

Tommy WON!

the guys blowing things up

Mark making an odd face...

I'm lucky that  Mark has patience for all of my picture taking :) 

Mark and the guys...their wives and I spent time by the pool and on the back porch. I  didn't get any photos of this unfortunately. 

Stealing my ice cream that he bought for Ava.

Hope you all had a great 4th of July with friends and family :) 

I FELT HER MOVE!!!

Happy Friday! Today is especially a great day for me! I felt Ava moving around this morning for the first time!!!!!! 

I should add that yesterday I had a regular check up with my OBGYN and right after we listened to Ava's heartbeat she told me that she felt movement with her hand. I told her that I have been feeling the "flutters" or "bubbles" that mothers describe a baby's first movements to feel like but that I had not felt a real kick or movement that feels like a baby is in there. So yesterday went on and I was kind of sad because although she is a doctor and is expected to know those kinds of movements - I WANTED TO FEEL IT! 

So here I am this morning in bed (Mark has already left to work) and I am laying on my back as I am waking up. All of a sudden I feel a very, very light little tumble movement on the lower end of belly! I didn't move... I stayed motionless so that I could feel it again. I was even reminding myself to breathe because I was so in shock and I did not want to miss her move again. She moved about 2 more times and I was smiling ear to ear [still am.] 

I think that maybe I had been feeling her, and had no idea what it was. My doctor told me what she would feel like and where I would feel it, and now I suppose I am paying closer attention and was able to know that I  did feel her this morning. 

Actually, I should have expected this today... Ava likes to give me exciting news to tell Mark on the last work day of the month. I found out that I was pregnant on the last work day of February (Happy Leap Year!), I found out that we were having a girl on Thursday, May 31st, and today Friday, June 29th I feel her squirming around :) 

For Mark, the last work day of the month is always the busiest day of the month at work. He works super late and I usually try not to bother him on this day being that he is crazy busy. Ava, apparently, already knows that she is the most important and likes to give her daddy good news to have him smile the rest of the day at work for these busy days. 

 :-) 

I just found this YouTube video showing baby movement! SO CRAZY TO SEE! 

I am nowhere near this point in my pregnancy, but crazy to think that this can happen later on.

A Bridal Shower In Honor of Alexandra Venezia

Over the weekend, I got to spend time with my best friend, Alexandra Venezia, for her Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party! Her mother, her sister, and I hosted the bridal shower for her at the W Hotel on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. It was a beautiful afternoon full amazing food, friendly guests, and great memories. Here are some pictures below from Saturday, July 23rd 2012.

Ali next to the world's most delicious cupcakes! These were SO GREAT. 

Stephanie (Ali's sister), Mrs. Venezia (Ali's mother), and Ali

Dayna, Jessica, Ali, Sarah, me, and Breana

Ali opening her bridal shower gifts!

My favorite part was after Ali opened the gifts.  I asked all of the guests to each think of some words of wisdom for a happy marriage. We each went around and gave our advice and things that have helped us in our marriages or relationships. My advice to Ali was what my abuela told me at my bridal shower, which is really the one that stuck with me the most.

She said, "In marriage, you will have some unpleasant times when you have arguments. You must remember that in those times, you need to choose your words very wisely. Once you have said something, you cannot take it back. Sure- you can always apologize... but the words have already been put out there and will be remembered even after the argument. So be careful when speaking to the one you love." 

Side note: I love this piece of advice because Mark and I are big believers in the idea that rather than judging a couple on their good times in public, nice photos shared on Facebook,  gifts/vacations they give to each other, etc.,  you actually can tell more about a couple by the way they disagree or argue with each other. (For example, in all of the years that I have known Mark, he has not raised his voice at me or has ever called me a bad name when we have argued- even in the darkest moments.) I think this is something to keep in mind when trying to find a mature and loving companion to share your life with.)

Stephanie, Ali's sister, wrote each  piece of advice down on a heart shaped piece of paper and placed them in a pretty keepsake box that we presented Ali with at the end of the Bridal Shower. There were so many great things shared and said during this time, and I am happy that Ali will have these written down to look back on.

So excited to be sharing this special time with Ali!


I am honored to be Ali's Matron of Honor alongside her sister, Stephanie Venezia. The bridal shower was a beautiful day and the bachelorette party was very fun. ( I did not include photos from the bachelorette party - those are kept secret!) haha

Ali, I hope you are taking in each moment of this very special time in your life. You have three weeks left until your BIG DAY. I am so happy for you, and look forward to seeing you on your wedding day! You are going to make such a gorgeous bride and Lee a very lucky groom!!!
I love you.