July 25th, 23 weeks 5 days

I am almost in my 24th week! Things have been pretty great! Recently, like in the last week and a half, I have had some trouble sleeping. Waking up to go pee of course, but also not being able to fall asleep so easily. I have also had a pain in my left hip that has now moved to my left groin, which has made it quite painful to move while I sleep and even to get up from sitting. I hope this goes away fast because I look like an old lady when I stand up and try to walk! Other than that I am great, and growing daily it seems!

New babies!
Since I have been home I have gotten to meet two new babies! Both were born to Melissas.

My friend Melissa and her son Ryder (along with good friends Alison and Angela) And my cousin Melissa finally got her girl!Charity is so precious!Congrats Melissas!!!!

Leto finally gets to California tomorrow night! I am super excited of course. We have been apart for a whole month! I cant wait for him to feel and see the baby move! I know he will be beyond happy to feel his little girl move! We have a busy couple of weeks planed while we are both here. We will start of in San Diego, then go to the OC, go to Indio for a couple of days (including our 1 year anniversary!!!). Then its off to Vegas, then back to the OC (I get to go to Alison's bachelorette party, and Leto gets to hang out with my family!) Then its back to Indio and finally Alison and Jacques wedding in the OC. We fly back to Sao Paulo on Aug 14th.

Here is a pic of me at ~24 weeks. If you compare it to my 21 week pic you will see a pretty big difference! I changed positions a little, I am facing the camera at more of an angle here. I want to say that is the reason I am so much bigger, but I think I have "popped" There is no going back! My body will never be the same again! Yikes! Hahaha.

Well, today is July 25th, and over the years I have come to know a lot of people who call this day a happy day, birthdays and anniversaries, but for me it will always be a sad day, the day my brother died. 14 years is a long time to miss someone. I think about him everyday, although a little less every year. I really wish that he could have been at my wedding last year. I think he would really love Leto and my new family (Leto's family). I also really wish he could meet his new niece in November. I know he is here in spirit, but I still miss him!

Baby Shower

My sister and my mom threw me a wonderful baby shower yesterday. It was great to see good friends and family. The baby got many wonderful things like a playpen, stroller and car seat, and a bunch of cute tiny clothes. Now the only thing we have to worry about is packing all of the stuff in our luggage to take back to Sao Paulo! It will be difficult but I think we will be able to make it work! Here are some pictures from the baby shower

My sister had cute M&Ms made with a picture that Leto's sister Sol took. It is Leto's face and my belly!
My mom came up with a great baby shower game. There were baby words in Portuguese and English and we had to match them. I got all of the right!
Mommy's girl!
Love my mom!
My wonderful family (and Robyn) Cousin Laurie, Cousin Melissa, Aunt Ruth, and Grandma Hazel!
Thank you so much Mom and Bren, for a great shower! I love you guys!
(4 generations in this pic, counting the baby in the belly!!!!)

July 12th 21 weeks 6 days

We are almost in our 22nd week! Time is sure going by fast. My second trimester has been pretty nice. I have been feeling her move a lot more, from the inside and the outside. I haven't let anyone feel her move because I am waiting for Leto to get here so he can be the first one to feel her. It is hard for my sister because she see me react to feeling the baby move and I know she wants to feel it too (and by react, I mean jump, it scares me every time!). She will have to wait a little longer! Leto arrives on July 26th.
I feel like my belly has grown a lot too, but it may just be in my head. Some days I feel absolutely huge and other days I feel pretty normal. I know I have been eating a lot since I have been here in California, but I have missed this food so much! I have been walking almost every evening with my sister which helps me feel better about eating so much, but I have a pain in my left hip that makes it a little painful to walk fast (and the heat here doesn't help either).
Here are some pics!

Me and my friends at a 3rd of July beach day. (Ang and Ali!)
Patrick and Bridget at a 4th of July celebration at Mariner's Park in Newport
4th of July BBQ (where i feel huge)
Backyard water fun with Bridget!
About 21 weeks. This was a "thin" day!