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! 

WOW! There's a baby in there!

Wow! What a difference a week and better ultrasound equipment makes! 

Today we went in for a higher-resolution scan and some testing. Everything looks great, so that's a relief. And WOW! The baby actually looks like a baby now! 

Steve keeps calling the baby "he," so for identification purposes, we'll refer to the baby as "he." (I really prefer not to call my child "it!") 

He currently measures 5.9cm, with a heart rate of about 160 beats/min, which we got to hear for the very first time.  He was squirming all around at first. That was hysterical. And then I guess he got sleepy and decided to take a nap. The technician kept thumping my belly to get him to move around, but he wasn't being disturbed. (Stubborn like dad!) But finally we got some movement and the tech was able to measure all of the necessary parts. Too early to tell if it really IS a "he" yet. We certainly can't wait for that. But today's experience was fascinating and wonderful! Totally looks like he's driving in there! 

It will probably be a few weeks before we get to check in again. But hopefully we'll get another ultrasound when we meet the OB (Dr. Hsu) next week. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Approaching The Second Trimester

Well, we're in week 11, and so far so good. We've had the opportunity to watch the baby grow week by week since we've been seeing Dr. Kan for ultrasounds every Tuesday. But now that we're closing out the first trimester, our weekly visits are done. It's nice to reach this milestone, yet we will miss our weekly "visits" with the baby." Now I'll begin seeing a regular OB. We are grateful for everything Dr. Kan and his staff have done to help us make this little baby.

We can't wait to find out if it's a girl or a boy so that we might finally start taking the "names" talk seriously. If she's a girl, we're in good shape. But if he's a boy. We're in trouble. Steve and I can't seem to come to any agreement on a boys name. So...we're certain that must mean it's a boy! I know he's hoping I'll come around to Steve Jr. But that's not going to happen!

At any rate, I'm feeling fantastic. Weeks 7-10 were a bit rough. The nausea was intense, as was the lethargy and sleepiness. But I think the worst is behind me, and I've been feeling fine this past week or so.

My belly has definitely begun to grow. I'm not really into the "belly picture" thing. But we'll see how things shape up further on down the line. Right now, I think I'm going to be a "DON'T TOUCH MY STOMACH" kind of pregnant lady. We shall see!

As always, big things are in the works for the Berecz family. We'll know more next week, but Steve is looking at some potential job moves that would mean a positive change, and possibly new home for us. But we've been down this road before. So, we aren't really putting any eggs into any baskets just yet. So stay tuned! You never know what's right around the corner!

We're excited to watch the PSU men's volleyball team play Pepperdine here in our back yard (UCI) this weekend for the National Championship! We saw them defeat Ohio State last night- a wonderful thing! We got to watch the game with all of the families and friends of the team, most of whom we met at the "Meet & Greet" Steve planned this week with the team. It's such a treat to have them out here. Regardless of the outcome (which we sure hope is a National Title!) it's been a lot of fun.

Work is going fantastic for me. I'm working with two interior designers, writing for Kitchen + Bath Business and Wood Digest magazines on a regular basis, and have begun working with a kitchen and bath specialist PR agency, Duehr & Associates. It's keeping me busy and is the greatest situation I could have ever dreamed up! (Especially those weeks when I wasn't feeling very well.)

We continue to view every day as a blessing and are enjoying this exciting time in our lives. We feel very fortunate and continue to pray that 2008 shapes up to be as fabulous as we believe it will.

Miracles Do Happen

On Tuesday, March 11, we learned that the IUI procedure worked. And we are pregnant!

Initial feelings ran from disbelief and fear to excitement and awe. And now, as the idea that what we've been working towards has finally come to be continues to settle in, we need to remind ourselves to enjoy this moment. All too soon anxiety crept in and all the "what if's" began. What if something happens? What if everything doesn't go smoothly? What if something's wrong? What if we miscarry? And of course all of the natural anxiety...The house is too small. How will we fit! Our families are so far away. How will we see them?

Now, at 7 weeks. We're starting to relax, realizing that it's all in God's hands and whatever is meant to be will be. We will make do with the house. We will figure out how to see family. It will work out. Everything will work out!

On Tuesday, April 1 (April Fool's Day and Steve's birthday) we saw the tiny heartbeat just pulsing away. It was amazing! It's hard to believe that there is this tiny little living being inside of me. And pretty soon, probably faster than we realize, it will be here, a part of our lives!

We'll be having one ultrasound a week until we reach 12 weeks. And then I'll begin visiting an OB and they will be less frequent. But for now, we're going to enjoy watching the baby grow as our excitement grows. And, if all goes well, we'll meet him/her on or about November 18!

So far, 2008 is really shaping up to be quite a year!