Staszel Family Vacation 2008

Summer Vacation was great! 

On June 20, Steve and I flew to Myrtle Beach airport to meet up with my parents as well as Noelle, Brian & Breckin, cousin Mary Ann, her husband Mark, Justin and Katie for a week in the sun in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. 

Our beach house on Sunset Beach was cozy and beautiful- the perfect place to call home for a relaxing week of fun. Sunset is a very calm and quiet island. There's isn't much to be found on the island. One grocery store and a couple of shops. For any other sign of civilization, you must cross the pontoon bridge, which opens on the hour to allow boats to pass through the inter-coastal waterway. 

We spent most of our days lounging on the beach and then playing games (Apples to Apples was a big hit!) and hanging out in the evening. We went out to dinner in the neighboring town of Calabash (Seafood Capital of the World!)  a couple times. All-you-can-eat crab legs at Beck's were awesome and dinner at The Grapevine was cozy. Steve and I went with mom and dad into Ocean Isle one afternoon for lunch at the Giggling Mackerel (mmm...soft shell crabs!) and had delicious ice cream at the Creamery. (Not quite as good as THE Creamery, but a close second! Blueberry Cheesecake and Pistachio! MMMMM!)  

Breckin loved the beach, especially the water! When we arrived, he was barely scooting around. But by the time we left, he was crawling and pulling himself up all over! He'll be walking soon for sure! 

We only had one day of rain, and it wasn't until evening. A mighty storm blew in that sent us all scurrying for the house. It was quite a thunder and lightening storm, but neat at the beach! 

Breckin and Noelle found a whole sand dollar. And one day, while the tide was way out, we found dozens of conch shells! I found 7 in about 4 minutes, just one right after the other! That day, the tide was so far out that we could sit and float in the tide pool with no waves to deal with. Ahhh......relaxation! 

The trip home wasn't so much fun. Whether it was the lingering cold, allergies, the air conditioning, humidity or just plain pregnancy, I was incredibly stuffy and had a horrible cough. The last two nights were very uncomfortable and I didn't sleep much. The plane ride home was a bear for my ears. Ick! 

All told, it was a beautiful, relaxing vacation. I hope we'll have the chance to do it again as a family after Baby Boy Berecz is born! At 20 weeks, my belly is getting bigger, but my nausea has all but subsided. The food aversions have also gone away, thank goodness. I can once again eat onions and lettuce! With the violet coughs and sneezes, I  tended to have some "pee" issues.  Par for the course, I guess! It's very exciting to be half way. We bought a few items to use in decorating his room (a nautical theme) and a cute Sunset Beach t-shirt so we'll remember to tell him all about it! I felt him move around quite a bit on the trip...a sure sign he had a good time too! 

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Baby Berecz is a boy!!! See for yourself above. Just follow the arrow. We found out this morning, and we're so excited. Nobody more so than Steve. It was all he could do to stay in his seat. I had started to prepare myself for both, as I didn't want to feel disappointed either way. But when we learned he really IS a he, I was shocked! It still feels a bit surreal, but it's fantastic to know! Now the fun can begin! Finalizing names, shopping, etc. I've already totally revamped the registry! 

So, week 17 and all is well. I'm fighting a chest cold, but Dr. Hsu said I can take Robitussin and Benedryl, and she wrote me a prescription for a Z-pack in case that doesn't help. Gotta get better before our trip to the beach with the family next week! 

Hopefully the Lakers can pull out a win over Boston in game 3 tonight at Staples Center. I'm in too good a mood (despite the awful cold) for a loss! 

Great Things About Being Pregnant

1. Free virgin drinks from friendly bartenders. 

2. No more buttoning and zipping up the pants. 

3. No need to purchase feminine supplies. 

4. Granny panties are SO comfy! 

5. Nobody thinks twice if you go back for a second helping of Grilled Stickies and Creamery Ice Cream. 

6. No hangovers! 

Four Months Along

It's 16 weeks, and it's now pretty evident that there's a baby in there! I still sometimes feel a need to point out the sort-of obvious...that I am pregnant. You just never know who thinks I've just been eating too much ice cream. Which is actually also true. It's all I want! 

We went to Penn State on May 30th for the Alumni Volunteer Leadership Conference. I was there for three days and ate Creamery ice cream THREE TIMES. Day 1: WPSU Coffee Break. Day 2: Vanilla WITH grilled stickies from the Diner! Day 3: Cookies & Cream. Heavenly! When I'm at home and can't have the blessed Creamery goodness, I crave McDonald's hot fudge sundaes. Maybe that's just because there isn't a DQ nearby. Despite my daily ice cream weakness, I've yet to actually gain a pound. (Knock on wood.) This is what happens when you are too nauseous to eat for four months. But the appetite is coming back, and for more than just ice cream. Though I still avoid richly flavored foods. 

We learned a lot at the conference, and met a lot of cool people. The Nittany Lion mascot continues to stalk us and we now  have an unimagined FOUR photos with him. Our new favorite is this one to the left. 

We got to spend a night in the 'burgh and saw some family and friends. My parents had a BBQ on the patio, which was awesome since the weather was just perfect. There's nothing like a summer evening in PA! Music, beer (for everyone else), and lightening bugs! You just don't have that here in CA. We got to spend some quality time with Noelle, Brian and Breckin as well as Jen and Claire. Our CA-now-'burgh friend Mel even came by. It was a fun night. 

My grandparents are doing okay. They're hanging in there. Of course my grandfather is tired, but he was alert and talkative when we visited- a relief to see. We had a nice breakfast with my parents and then headed off to the airport. We'll see everyone again in a few weeks at Sunset Beach! 

Meanwhile, we hope to find out if we've got Baby Girl Berecz or Baby Boy Berecz in here next Tuesday. That's 6 days from now...I am counting down! We can hardly wait to find out! It's so exciting! And hard to believe that we've come this far already! Before we know it, there will be three of us! Well, four. We can't forget the Frank Ass!