eight months

August 19, 2009 was 32 weeks--8 months:

...and I'm getting bigger by the week (sometimes by the day, I'd swear)...wow!

St. Louis!

In June, The Belly and I visited St. Louis, MO for a get-together with great friends. We had great food, saw the sights, and--most of all--enjoyed each other's company again. Window watching from Sarah's awesome apartment was fun for all...she has some interesting neighbors (wonder how ol' Shirley is doing...?)! And, of course, we saw the Arch, which is walking distance from Sarah's...as are some great restaurants & nightlife. What a wonderful weekend!!! It was beautiful all around! (Miss you gals!)


Courtney, Sarah, Stacey, The Belly, Mary

They made me do a belly pic!

Stacey and soon-to-be-Diego (what a traveller he is already) at the Arch

hahaha... :)

Home Sweet Home

During the Memorial Day weekend, Denis, Diego, and I traveled to my hometown--Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Denis did something very brave...he met nearly my entire family AND survived. :) I knew he'd fit right in...and he even enjoyed all the family stories about great-grandpa! While we were there, we visited THE Bluff--Scotts Bluff National Monument. Despite the gloomy appearance, the weather wasn't too bad and we had a good time. Denis found the history interesting and I hadn't been up there in a few years. We hope to be back home after Diego makes his appearance!


Overlooking Scottsbluff below ..............................The Bluff from the south side



The Belly on The Bluff.......................................... We do have cars in western, NE, I promise

It's A Boy!!!

The suspense was killing me. My doc didn't want to do a sonogram until at least 20 weeks, but I couldn't wait that long. I found that there are several options for sonograms complete with videos, CDs, 3D imaging...who knew! So, at 17 weeks I went in...

It's hard to see...but it's A BOY!

3D imaging...cool & creepy all at once

The best part about finding a company to do a sonogram is all the options available. As part of my sonogram, I was able to send links to friends and family so they could "join" me online! My very best friend and my brother & future sis-in-law were able to watch the whole thing!

Oh BOY!.....or GIRL?

Looking back, I can't believe I didn't put all the pieces together. Apparently, my co-workers (especially Denis' drivers) figured I was expecting long before I did. I didn't know it at the time, but people had actually been asking Denis...he didn't tell me because he didn't want to hurt my feelings. But he saw it. He'd been guessing it for weeks! He'd dropped hints here and there...I thought he must be joking with me... It was happening to ME and I didn't even catch on! Wow.

For a week or so after our cruise, I'd wondered...the stuffy nose, the weight gain, weird moments of nausea, my dresses not fitting on the cruise (UGH!)...I thought, "well, maaaaaaybe." But, not likely. Until my good friend and I went to dinner and she began talking about her med student friend who examined a woman who had no idea she was pregnant...hmmmm...a sign? And THEN...we saw another good friend and her new baby boy...ok, another sign. So, I'm holding this adorable baby and thinking, "Ok, it's time. It'll be negative anyway, so what's the harm."

I think I took four over-the-counter tests before I broke down and made a call to my doc. Denis' first words were, "Ooooooooohhhhh boy!"

The hardest part was not knowing....BOY or GIRL? It was torture! I immediately googled "predictors" and "signs" of gender.


For the record....these things DON'T work

Bahama Mama

It turns out that Diego has been "traveling" the world from the very beginning! Denis and I went "cruising" February 15, 2009 sailing to Key West, FL, then Freeport & Nassau, Bahamas. Little did we know we had a "stowaway" on board with us! And here I blamed seasickness for my trips to the cabin bathroom and infirmary. We had a great time despite my green complexion...

Key West was our first stop. We enjoyed the cute little shops, charismatic bars (whoops!), and a great little oyster bar (oops again, but, boy was it good!) before heading out for kayaking in mangroves and snorkeling with sting rays. I also ended up with probably the worst sunburn of my life...of course. :)

Denis enjoyed the local artwork......oysters soaked in lemon juice........and a great Key West sunset!

Next stop was Freeport, Bahamas, which turned out to be very industrial...yet had great beaches and a national park. We, again, kayaked in what seemed to be an endless stream of mangroves. Very peaceful!...until Denis steered us directly into the mangroves. Do you know how hard it is to get out of those things? I blamed a little bit of irritability on Denis' seemingly poor sense of direction. :) Looking back, raging hormones were probably the culprit. It all turned out well, however, and we ended up kayaking straight to a beautiful white beach, where we had lunch, waded in the ocean, and lounged in the sand. Later, we hiked to a cave in Lacaya (the name of the native people of the island) National Park--Ben's Cave (we even met the real Ben!)--and learned about native plants & animals.

Beach on Freeport..........................Ben's Cave.....................interesting pine trees in Lacaya Nat'l Park

Last stop--Nassau, home of Atlantis! We spent the day at this gi-normous hotel/resort. Just amazing! Turtle feedings, shark feedings, aquariums, beaches, bars, shops...this place has it all. I felt like we could have spent our week here and still not see it in it's entirety. I thought the aquariums were fantastic. It was a great day to spend on the beach and eat conch fritters--a local favorite, but not one of mine (or Diego's)...an acquired taste, I guess.

(The last picture should look familiar to Mary--Stacey (& Diego) at the Atlantis aquarium)

Our cruise (first "family" vacation?)...we truly had a great time! I had to hold Denis back from finding a job application for Carnival Cruises. We plan on doing it again someday, although, it will have to wait a bit...at least until I can wear a regular-sized swimsuit again.

I can't believe I'm blogging

First MySpace...then Facebook... I've never "blogged" before. I don't even read blogs. But...after some very good friends told me about theirs, they've convinced me there are some pretty good reasons to keep one. Soooo, here is the Shafenberg-Bernal blog. Maybe we'll end up with a cool nickname like Brangelina or Speidi. Hm. Maybe not. Anyway, I'll be doing my best to keep everyone up-to-date on our newest adventure...Diego. I already feel like he has so much life. He's been "traveling" to exotic places and enjoys "waving" at the camera (a.k.a., sonogram wand). He moves around constantly in his little...well, not so little if you ask me...home. If he's anything at all like his Dad, he will be one active, curious, adventurous little chico. :) Let's see if I can keep up with the boys, eh?

Welcome to our little spot on the world wide web...Pictures and updates coming soon!