Maternity Pictures

Today I am 39 weeks, so I've got one more week to go! I can't believe the time has finally come in which Logan will soon be in my arms.

The doctor says I am one centimeter dialated and 25% effaced. At our last ultrasound, Logan was measuring about 7lbs. 2oz. However, the ultrasound tech says that his actual birth weight can fluctuate by about a pound in either direction.

We have officially finished putting the room together and Josh and I are thrilled with the way it has turned out (please see pictures below). The room is done, the carseat is in and our bags are pretty much packed, so I think we're ready for his arrival. Hopefully the next time I post will be of pictures of Logan outside of the womb! We can't wait to meet the little guy!

In this post I've included pictures from our ultrasound, Logan's room and our pregnancy photo shoot. Please enjoy!

Happy 4th of July! 37.5 weeks!



Ultrasound pictures from 36 weeks!

Logan is lying horizontally. In this picture you can see his open eye!

Although this picture is somewhat blurry, if you turn your head sideways you can see both of his eyes (one is open), his nose, his lips and his hand.

Another blurry shot but this is a picture of his profile.

Josh asked the technician to double-check that the baby was still a boy; he's so funny!

Logan's Room! After lots of time and energy, we finally finished Logan's room. Thank you so much to those of you who helped make his room turn out the way it has. We absolutely love it and can't wait to have Logan in it!

My best friend Angela's sister, Andrea, is a photographer and agreed to take our maternity pictures. Since Josh and I met at Fullerton College, we decided to take our pictures on Fullerton's campus. We had such a blast reminiscing about our college days! We were able to take a picture outside of the classroom we met in and were lucky enough to find another classroom open to take some fun photos in! Thanks again Andrea!

This was a classroom that was open. We went inside, found some chalk (who still uses chalkboards?), wrote down Logan's due date and took some fun pictures!

This is the actual classroom where Josh and I first met 10 years ago!

My Second Shower!

My amazing Mom and sister were kind enough to throw me a second shower on June 6th! This shower included family and friends. They hosted the shower at my parent's house in my dad's beautiful backyard. My dad spends so much of his extra time and energy in creating this tropical landscape and it was the perfect backdrop to our event.

My Mom and sister did an excellent job of entertaining my guests. We had some food catered from Alicias (one of my favorite places), and my Mom and sis made the rest of the food, including the delicious desserts!

Thank you so much to my Mom, Dad and Sis for a lovely shower and to all of my guests for attending!

My wonderful sister and Mom. Thanks so much you two for hosting such a beautiful shower!

THE GAME - my sister had our guests play a crossword puzzle. Here are some pictures of the ladies seriously concentrating...

My family and friends

My good friends and their families

Angela's family

Josh's family and friends

The Iwai Family


GIFTS - I received so many wonderful gifts! Thank you so much ladies for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Here are some highlights...

Along with many other gifts, Josh's mom--Alison--made sure to purchase a Lakers jersey for Logan!

And of course, a Dallas Cowboys onesie--Daddy's favorite football team!

Beth made this beautiful stroller blanket and matching beanie. I just love handmade gifts!

I am so excited that my Tia purchased the artwork for Logan's nursery! She got him the "LOGAN" letters and four wall pieces that are bright, educational and go with the tropical theme in his room.

Nancy knows how much I love my wine, and she knows how much I'm looking forward to having some once Logan has arrived!

My best friend, Angela, and her family got me my jogging stroller. I'm so excited! Angela is an instructor for Stroller Strides (a fitness program for mothers and their children) and although Logan isn't here yet, I've already taken the stroller out for practice.



PHOTOS - Here are some pictures of me and my guests

My best friends, Joelle and Angela.

My best friend, Angela's family--Alexa, Susan with Ellie, Ang with Lillie, Andrea and Gaddy.

Josh's side of the family--Alex (my niece), Morgan (Josh's cousin), Alison (my mother-in-law), Grandma Maria, and Brooke (my sister-in-law).

My best friend, Joelle, and her mom, Kristine.

Our dear friend, Jim's mother, Debbie.

My cousin, Mia, my grandma Olgui and Polly.

My good friend, Emily, and her mother-in-law, Kathy.

This is Beth. She is Matt's (Josh's best friend) mom. She made the beautiful stroller blanket!

My friend, Kristy, and her mom, Nancy.

My best friend, Jamie, and her mom, Brianna, and sis, Breaz.

My Tia Linda and cousin Alexis

My amazing mother and Logan's Mimi!

My cousin, Dakota, and my Tia. Thanks for making it girls!

My wonderful girlfriends--Jamie, Joelle, Emily, Kristy (and Ang, not pictured)--who attended both of my showers! Thanks ladies, you're the best!

My sister--Logan's Tia-- and me.

Growth Update!

Many new and exciting things have happened since my last post! I am currently in my third trimester and many changes have occurred. For starters, I have definitely grown. My belly button has officially popped! Logan is growing and moving much more frequently. In fact, he wakes me up in the morning. However, he seems to be busy moving around mostly during the evenings after dinner. I not only feel kicks, but I can feel him rolling his body around inside my stomach! For the first time in my life I've experienced heartburn--not a fan; however, I am a fan of ice cream, more specifically Thrifty Rocky Road ice cream! Seriously, if you haven't experienced Thrifty Rocky Road in a while, you need to treat yourself! As for aches and pains, I occasionally have shortness of breath, heartburn, and back pains; however, everything has been manageable. I just have to remind myself to slow down a bit and that can be difficult.

Recently I finished work. Yay! I decided to take the last four weeks of the school year off and it has been amazing! I feel like I've been able to concentrate on myself and getting ready for the baby. In fact, I've been able to work out more. I'm trying to attend Zumba classes twice a week with my mom and sister. These classes are so much fun! The entire time you are dancing and shaking your booty! I'm determined to make Logan a man that loves to dance, even if I'm starting as early as the womb. Lately, I've been attending Stroller Strides. Stroller Strides is a great program that allows moms to bring their children to class in a jogging stroller so that they can work out while their children hang out! My best friend, Angela, is an instructor and I've been fortunate enough to attend and get some exercise.

I've officially entered my "nesting phase", in which all I want to do is prepare the house for the baby's arrival. I just recently had my baby shower, so Josh has been assembling baby gear and I just washed five loads of Logan's laundry! He's not even here and he has more laundry than Josh and I. Josh and I are busying ourselves every weekend in order to prepare Logan's room and the house for his soon arrival.

The other thing that Josh and I have done to prepare for Logan's arrival is begin taking our baby classes! The first class we took was a set of three classes that prepare parents for childbirth. WOW! Josh and I are in for the surprise of our lives! It was funny to see Josh's reactions to some of the videos that we were shown, especially the video that showed the baby being delivered. I looked over at Josh during this video and his mouth seemed to drop to the floor. My emotions are mixed because I'm so excited for him to be here, but I'm also terrified of the labor and delivery process. I just keep reminding myself that millions of women do it everyday and most of them do it more than once. Today we start our newborn baby care class, which I think will be very beneficial for Josh and I, especially Josh (read on to see Josh's responses to questions about babies and you'll know why I say this).

Please scroll down to view pictures of me and my growing belly during my pregnancy!

18 weeks--Logan weighs about 7 ounces and his length is that of a bell pepper!


23 1/2 weeks--Logan is weighing just over a pound (large mango)!

27 weeks--my belly button has just started to pop out! Logan is about 2 pounds, the size of a head of cauliflower.

32 weeks--Logan is about 3.75 pounds (the size of a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches in length!

April - May Fun!

During my 25th week of pregnancy, I was on Spring Break and had a week off from work. Josh and I decided this was a perfect time to take a pre-baby vacay. Josh took a couple days off of work and we drove up the coast. We decided to take the scenic route and first stopped in Solvang, an old Dutch town. We walked around, had lunch and dessert in Solvang. It was so much fun! We then continued on to San Luis Obispo to check in to our hotel. We stayed at the Madonna Inn, a very fun and well-known hotel. The Madonna Inn is known for each of its hotel rooms being themed and unique. We had a delicious steak dinner at the hotel. The next day we drove to Hearst's castle. Josh and I had never been there before and had a lot of fun touring the amazing grounds. Afterwards, we stopped in Cambria for window shopping and lunch by the beach. It was beautiful! Lastly, we spent the night in Santa Barbara and went to a movie and late night Italian dinner. Overall, we had a wonderful time! We were both able to take a break from our busy lives, enjoy the scenic views of the ocean and relax.

Our fabulous hotel room at the Madonna Inn. Our room was called the "Lucky Rock" because it was made up of rock walls and a rock shower!

A picture of us touring Hearst's castle. This picture was taken in front of the beautiful Neptune pool.

A picture of us in Cambria after lunch

Since I was 27 weeks pregnant for my 28th birthday, I was in the mood to do something more mellow. I went to dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants, La Betolla. Afterwards, we invited our friends over to our house for game night. We had so much fun playing games and hanging out! And to top it off, my amazing husband baked dessert for me and my guests! I love you honey!

Some of my lovely ladies that joined me on my birthday--Angela, Emily and Jamie.

My wonderful husband baked me two cakes this year!

Making a very special birthday wish!

Blowing out all 28 candles!

A very happy birthday girl!

The Dowdee's housewarming party was the first summer activity in which bathing suits were involved. I decided to be brave and show off my pregger belly!

All of us ladies trying to catch a few rays at Kristy and Jared's housewarming party!

At 28 weeks, Logan has been moving a lot more frequently. The girls all gathered around to try and feel his movement. However, once all of their hands were on my belly, he stopped moving. Although he's in the womb, he's trying to get the attention of the ladies!