Here I am at 38 weeks...

This was taken yesterday at my friend Laura's House. We spent the afternoon there with some friends for a party. Thank you Lauri for such a great afternoon. I will post more photos later of Luka and all his friends. He really had a blast.

My Birth Story

So, yesterday I was considered "full-term" that means the baby could pop out at any time. I am hoping that he/she waits at least until Monday. That is the day we are moving the family to South Africa to await the arrival of Baby van Herksen.

Well, these last couple of days I have been wondering what kind of birth I am going to have and freaking out about the PAIN and the hours of labor I will have to endure. What else am I supposed to think about, right?

Some people say that you should look to your mom to see what type of births she had and this will give you a basic idea of how yours will go. I don't believe that...but I did ask my mom about the births of my sister and I. I knew they were very different, but I really didn't know the details of mine. Okay, my mom was 22 when she had me...and who knew she had so many errands to run on the day I was born. These are her words that she emailed to me recently:

Melissa Isabel Vigues

born June 3, 1975 at 10:16 pm

"With you my dear daughter I started having pains at 6:00 am. I got dressed and ready to go to the hospital, but Papi had to run some errands before we got to the hospital. First we stopped to drop off a flyer at a print shop that Papi had worked on the night before (remember your father did freelance back then on the side). {Funny I do the same work now}. Then we went to my father's house to let him know we were on our way to the hospital. {Guess no cell phones back then}. Then we went to St. Michael's Church because I wanted to get communion and Father Paz gave it to us at the rectory. {Same parish/school I went to school my entire childhood}. Finally we got to the hospital at about 10:30 am and I was having contractions every 3 minutes, but I would not dilate more than 3 centimeters and I was in labor until 10:16 pm when you were born! Very LONG and PAINFUL labor!"

Monica Maria Vigues

born on September 21, 1978 at 9:05 pm

"Now with Monica I had my first pain at 8:00 pm, while I was in the condo. Your sister was born at 9:11 pm at Cedar's of Lebanon Hospital...by the way we arrived at the hospital at 9:05 pm. The pain was strong, but it didn't last long at all."

I am really hoping my labor is more along the lines of my sister's birth....a girl can wish!

37 Weeks...The Countdown Begins

(scan at 36 weeks...look at that face...not sure what those huge things are in front, maybe fingers...but so cute, right?)

Tomorrow I will be officially 37 weeks....only 21 days from the official due date of May 18th. But really this baby could come at any time. How freaking crazy is that? I can hardly believe that the time is already here. Although it hasn't been an easy pregnancy, it has flown by. I still remember the day in Pretoria when we did the IVF and seriously had no expectations that it would finally work.

But here we are...huge belly...every pregnancy symptom you can imagine. Yes, can you believe they keep coming! Last week I started with nosebleeds and well let's just skip the other one...too nasty...but some ladies reading this will know what I am talking about...if you don't, well...LUCKY you. But you know what...Yes, I complain about all the changes, migraines and nausea but I am so freaking lucky that I can actually go through all this.

I never really thought that I would actually give birth to a son/daughter...ever. I still catch myself in disbelief when I glance at my shadow or see my belly in the mirror. JJ and I were so lucky to be parents already, but to go through this experience has been amazing (I know JJ is reading this saying...what a liar...she complains so much...it is true...I do...what do you expect I am 37 weeks pregnant, but I know how great it is at the same time).

Being pregnant believe or not has made me appreciate what we have with Luka even more. I think of the time he must have been growing in his other mommy's belly and what she felt while she was carrying him and I realize that she gave him the greatest gift of all...LIFE! Not only did she give birth to him, but she made a conscious decision to try and give him a better life. Sometimes things in life happen for a reason and I really believe that if Luka had not been part of our lives this baby would not have been either. He has been our lucky charm during this entire process.

Since the beginning he has known what is going on and been there to ask how mommy is doing and kissing my belly at every turn. I can't wait for our family to be complete and for this baby brother or sister to meet his/her amazing big brother Luka.

More Dancing with Luka...

A couple of weeks ago Luka celebrated his 3rd Birthday with a Spider Creepy Crawly Party. You can see all the photos by clicking here. But the real party started when everyone left. Who knew that Luka wanted to skip the spiders and go straight to salsa dancing. In the video above he is dancing with Kaira (Clotilde's daughter). Clotilde is his nanny and he LOVES Kaira. She is a year older than Luka, but he doesn't seem to mind.

We just put some Buena Vista Social Club and Celia Cruz and there was no stopping these kids. Luka still needs to learn a little bit about dancing with a partner...as you can see from the video he likes to be dipped. I need to tell him that he has to be the one to dip, but for now it is very entertaining to watch.

And just so you know Luka likes to watch this video at least 5 times per day and dance all around the house. I can't even have iPhoto open or else he goes ballistic so that I will play these videos of him and Kaira dancing.

And if you didn't get enough from the first video, here is another one:

What do you think? Do you think he gets these moves from the Cuban or Dutch side of the family? Or maybe he just gets it from his Mozambican blood....

Our Belly Dancer

I am currently 36 weeks and the baby is always moving around and Luka wants in on the action too. He walks around flashing his belly telling everyone to "look the baby is moving." I guess he heard me say it and he doesn't want to feel left out. It is very cute.

This photo is from a birthday party last week where he wanted to show everyone how "his" baby was moving. He actually moves his stomach up and down...very similar to a belly dancing move. Not sure where he learned that one...not from me that's for sure!

Happy Birthday My Love

I wanted to wish my best friend a Happy Birthday! Today the love of my life turned 33 years old. Congratulations sweetie! I hope you are ready for the roller coaster ride you will have this 33rd year of your life. We have so many things to look forward to...first up will be welcoming Baby van Herksen to our family. I can't wait to meet him or her and see you hold our baby for the first time. Then we are off to Bolivia! There is no one in the world I would want to be on this adventure we call life with.

Little did I know the road our relationship would take when I answered that "wink" on match.com but I really think I am the luckiest girl in the world. (Although my recent mood swings would convey a different message to you...but you know I love you right!)

I hope that all your wishes come true (especially the one I told you to wish for as you blew out your birthday candles...that will be a secret to all your blog readers!)

I LOVE YOU FOREVER!

PS Don't you love the vintage polaroid looking photo. We have this new app for our iPhone - Hipstamatic iPhone App. It is so much fun! Here are some other ones we took at one of JJ's Birthday celebrations:

Dreaming of a nursery....

(photos courtesy of ohdeedoh)

I am almost 35 weeks and I really wish I could use this time to prepare the room for Baby van Herksen, but the reality is that we will be jumping around from house to house from the time the baby isn't even a month old. We will be packing up our house in Maputo at the beginning of June (my due date is May 18th). We will be living in an apartment hotel in Maputo until the end of July. Then we will visit Holland for two weeks, followed by Miami for two weeks.

From there we will finally head to La Paz (August 21), where we will stay in an apartment hotel for about 3 weeks (I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is only that long). Hopefully our container won't delay and it will get there in time.

This is not ideal for a new baby. I am actually more worried on the toll that this will take on Luka. He has many changes coming up. But it is our reality and we need to take it one day at a time.

Well, back to the reason for my post. Here are some photos that have inspired me for the new baby's nursery. What do you think? I am in love with the combination of pale yellow and a light light tiffany blue. Luka's room is also that same blue but the other color is red. I can't seem to get away from that blue color (it was also one of our wedding colors with chocolate brown). I am a little obsessed with it. But doesn't the combination with yellow make it so refreshing.

(photos courtesy of ohdeedoh)

I love this bookcase of toys. We actually have the bookcase and many of those toys. I really wish I had that Eames Rocker....maybe one day.

(photo courtesy of armelle...the blog)

Luka's Latest Photo Session

Is my son cute or what? Isn't he a ham? Okay, I need to stop, but these photos make me so happy. You should have seen him dancing around in the studio for Solange from Magma Photography in Maputo. She has been taking photos of Luka once a year and this was our session to celebrate his third birthday. If you are in Maputo and want to take some family photos she is great!

Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Our "Kitchen Sink" Tradition

My parents love to take care of their grandchildren...but for some reason they don't like to bathe them in the bathroom. Here is Evan - the newest addition to the family - taking a bath in the kitchen sink.

And here is Luka when he smaller and actually fit in the kitchen sink...I need to find one of Maxwell. I know the photo exists because all three of the boys love to take a bath next to the dishes!

Happy Easter

Today was Easter and to be honest with you....I felt like staying home and staying in my PJs all day (JJ and Luka were both very happy doing the same thing). So instead of bunnies, we were hermits.

I don't know if it is this 34 week belly or the heat outside, but it felt so cozy inside that we spent the day watching tv and painting Easter pictures. Yes, I am a horrible mother...there were no Easter Eggs to be found in my house, but where the heck was I going to get an Easter Egg painting kit in Maputo and last year I tried with food coloring and it was a "permanent" mess. The Easter Bunny did make a stop in our house to deliver Luka an Easter basket.

Here are the photos that Luka and I colored. Can you guess which one is mine? Look at Luka's Easter Egg...Look closely. He said it was a picture of mommy WITH eyebrows. He was very proud of the fact that he knew the word eyebrows and that he knew how to draw them. The eyebrows are in black and my eyes are purple...do you see it? If you click on the photos they become larger for a closer inspection.

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter wherever you are!

Message from My Dad

My father is hilarious. Look at the message I found in my email yesterday:

Dear Melissa & JJ:

We love the last sonogram of the baby. He looks really big and I know you still don't know the sex, but I can tell you its a BOY.

The problem is that people try to detect the sex looking the way the baby looks TODAY, instead of looking at how the baby will look as an adult. I took some artistic liberties, but I know for sure it's a boy.

See the attached sonogram (pictured above).

Love,

Pai

Thank You Ms. Rosa

Ms. Rosa was Luka's teacher at the Montessori School he used to go to. She really made an impression on him and he talks about her all the time. Well, last weekend Luka got a special treat when she showed up to his birthday party with her family. She also brought a great present - a CD with photos of Luka in action at school. Ms. Rosa, thank you for such a great memento of Luka's time in your class. We miss you!

To see the photos click here.

Scene from Xai Xai

Two weeks ago we spent the weekend on the beach in Xai Xai with friends. Here is a beautiful photo taken by my friend Paty Jimenez. You can see more of her photography here.

For more photos from the trip click here.

Our Baby @ 33 Weeks

Today we went for our 33 week check-up and got to see our little peanut. We are still trying to guess if it is a boy or girl...what do you think? I think that just by looking at the face it looks like a little boy, but sometimes by gut tells me it is a girl. So to tell you the truth...we have no freaking idea. But it is very fun to keep guessing.

During the visit the doctor had a really good time giving us the details on the baby. Here are some of the stats:

- The baby already weighs 2.2 kg (4.8 lbs). (How much bigger is this baby going to get..still 7 weeks to go!)

- "The baby has a big nose....Melissa, it looks just like you or maybe JJ." (JJ laughing, I didn't laugh so much)

- "Look at those big feet." (Mommy has a size US 12 (43) and Daddy also has a US 12 (47)....BIG surprise)

- "The baby has a big head...look at all those brains." (At that moment I thought it was a girl)

- "You have a really happy baby. His/her heart rate goes up and down...shows the playful side of the baby."

All in all it was a great visit and we are very happy that everything is going on track and the baby is growing....and the best part is that I am NOT growing. Can you believe I weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant. Let's hope I don't gain too much weight in the end...but only time will tell.

As far as the pregnancy, I still get nausea and morning sickness, but at this point I just think of it as a reminder of all the great things to come....or at least that is what JJ keeps telling me. Small price to pay after all the work it took to get this little one.

Luka is really excited about the baby. I hope this is a sign that he won't be too jealous. He loves to come to our room in the morning and shower my belly with kisses. He also changes his mind on a daily basis on whether he thinks it is a boy or girl, but to be honest he tends to lean towards having a brother.

We head to the doctor again at 36 weeks...so you know what that means...more pictures and I get to eat at McDonald's (hee hee hee). They recently opened a McDonald's in Nelspruit, South Africa (3 hrs from Maputo) where we go for all our medical visits. Yummy! It tastes so much better when you only have it once in a while.

Message from Luka on his THIRD Birthday

Today I am THREE years old! I woke up this morning and my mommy surprised me with a really cool t-shirt. I liked it so much I had to do the birthday dance before I headed off to school to show it off. What do you think of my moves? By the way the t-shirt had a really cool spider to celebrate the Spider & Creepy Crawly Party I will have tomorrow...can't wait.

When I got to school my teacher Ms. Maria made me a silly hat and all my friends sang me Parabens (Happy Birthday in Portuguese) many times during the day. I had to wear the silly hat all day, but it wasn't all bad...everyone kept giving me hugs and kisses and treating me very special.

When I got home my mommy and daddy said I would have some friends come over for cake and coffee. What is that all about...I was like I don't drink coffee or eat cake, but they said that the adults would bring the kids (my friends) if there was something for them to eat...go figure. I was just happy my mom opened a bag of chips. Chips are my ABSOLUTE favorite thing in the world.

When they came over they sang Happy Birthday to me in four languages - English, Spanish, Dutch & Portuguese. I won't subject you to the video of all four, but here is my favorite version - the Portuguese. I really love to sing and blow out candles!

For all the photos from today click here.

Names, names & more names

As you know JJ and I are excited about the surprise regarding the sex of the baby. But that means we can't really pick a name yet and the endless possibilities has us in a tailspin. I found this really cool site - Nameberry. Check it out and let us know if you have any suggestions...you won't find out what we picked until the baby is born...we probably won't even know. But it might be fun to come up with some different and unique names.

Feliz Dia Do Pai

Did you know that March 19th was Father's Day in Mozambique? Well, we didn't either until Luka came home with this present for his daddy. Isn't it cute? He was so proud of his painted shirt and tie and couldn't wait for his father to see it. Feliz Dia do Pai my love!

Broadway in Maputo?

It wasn't quite the same as seeing it on Broadway, but Luka and I had our first Theater Date yesterday. We went to go see Peter Pan. The show was at one of the local theaters in town, but it was put on by the American High School. It was hard to get Luka to actually go into the dark theater. He cried hysterically and would not stop. We went outside and I calmed him down and told him all about Peter Pan and that it was just like the book we read at home. Well, after 20 minutes he agreed to try the show. So we went in late, but did get to see most of it. In the end he said he liked it and he has been telling everyone about it...but you would have never guessed from the holy hell he screamed at the beginning.

Mommy and Luka on their "date"

Bring on the Rain

This past Sunday we went to our friend's house for a dip in the pool. Luka was very excited about going for a swim. Well, we got there and it started to pour...but that didn't stop the boys from playing in the rain. They had a blast and Luka asked for rain today so that he could go out and play :)

Thank you Ellie for the photos!

Say Hey...I Love You

I had never heard of Michael Franti & Spearhead, but here they are singing my new favorite song. I saw this video (thanks Jackie for sharing on facebook) and it made me think of all the joy and happiness that I sometimes see walking around here in Maputo. This was done is Brazil, but it could be anywhere in the world where you see people that you think might not have much, but they still have this zest and joy for life that is simply contagious.

The song also talks about traveling all over the world and it states the more you see the less you know...that is so true. But the learning process is so much fun and really I am blessed to have the kind of life where I will be able to see many corners of the world. By the way, this week we find out where our next "corner" will be.

Anyway, this is dedicated to all my friends and family...I LOVE YOU!

PS Maybe I just overly sensitive due to the rush of hormones, but the song is catchy, huh!

PSS By the way if this guy is super famous and you are thinking...why hasn't she heard of him. Well let's just say that I don't have the most evolving taste in music. I listen to the same music over and over again. It drives my husband INSANE :)

Who is Michael Franti? Here you go...what a cool guy! I also heard he is an ambassador for CARE...loving him!

Daddy & Me Time

Just feeling the love for my boys today....aren't they cute? This photo was taken on our last trip to Miami. As I have mentioned before Luka is in love with planes at the moment and this was the perfect way for JJ to bond with his son over jet engines.

Feliz Dia Da Mulher

Today is the International Day of the Woman...well, at least that is what they told me at Luka's school when I picked him up today and he enthusiastically greeted me with this beautiful painting. It is the first bouquet I receive from Luka ♥

In celebration of all the special women in Luka's life I wanted to share the painting with all of you. He sends a special hug to all his omas, abuelas, tias and aunts!

Hanging Art with Hangers....Genius

After almost 3 months of not checking on my favorite blogs this morning I found some time to browse....I forgot how much I love them and how much inspiration I get from them. Here is a photo of a great idea....isn't it a cool way to hang up posters or maybe art from the kids. It has such a great vintage feel. The fabulous orange couch also adds to the whole style.

Our Baby - 29 Weeks

Well, we are officially in the home stretch now. There is no denying that I am pregnant and at 7 months and 1 week I am officially into my third trimester. I am feeling okay, but the nausea and food aversions are still there. I was not one of the lucky ones where those symptoms disappear after the first trimester. But I feel 100% better than the first couple of months...thank goodness.

We still don't know if it is a boy or girl and hopefully we won't find out until the big day, but there are many people that have their own scientific theories about what it is. A co-worker of JJ saw me today and she asked me a couple of questions about my freckles and skin and she said she knows. She claims she had a genetics teacher that taught her this "method" and she has never been wrong. We asked her not to tell us, but write it down and seal it in an envelope...so we can see if she was correct. In Miami people were always looking at my belly and saying it is a girl. What do you think? Isn't it fun not to know!

I will leave you with these photos of our "baby face" that were taken yesterday. They are not super clear, but if you stand back and take a look you can see our baby. Isn't she/he cute?

Luka's Drawing of His Grandparents

A few weeks ago JJ and I had to go to the bank with my parents. Luka came along for the ride and we had to keep him entertained so I asked him to draw a picture of Grandma & Grandpa. Well this was his interpretation and he was very specific about who was who. It was very cute....what do you think? Better yet...what do my parents think?

Happy Anniversary Baby

On February 19th JJ and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary (Yeah, I am a little late on the post). I can't believe how time flies....but I guess that happens when you are having fun...or at least that is what they say.

These four years have been amazing and I can honestly say that they have been an adventure! I love you baby and I can't wait for the next four years, and the ones after that, then the ones after that. Who knows where our "adventure" will take us, but there is no one else I would want as my co-pilot.

Aren't these pictures cute? Well, there is a story to them...ever since I can remember I have been trying to get JJ into a photo booth with me and take these type of tacky photos. Finally on February 19th this year we were at the museum with Luka and I spotted one. I think he indulged me because it was our anniversary. I don't know about you, but I love them.

Thank You Joey

I have this wonderful friend that is a very talented photographer - Jose Chambrot. He took the photos at our baby shower and they are beautiful. You can see them if you click here. For those of you that attended there are many gorgeous photos you might like...especially of some of your little ones.

If you would like Joey to photograph your next party or event send him and email at me@josechambrot.com.

Thank you again Joey for capturing the day!

Say Cheese

Finally....the photos from the trip have been sorted and organized. Since I didn't take too many photos I had to gather them from friends and family. We ended up with some really great photos that captured most of the things we did on our trip.

From going to the beach with family to build sand castles to shopping at Best Buy with Luka and let's not forget Luka's passion these days....watching for planes at MIA. This boy is really obsessed with planes, so much so that when we landed in Mozambique (mind you, the 3rd plane in 40 hours) he exclaimed, "Mami, I want to go on ANOTHER plane!"

Click here to see all of our albums.

Enjoy!

PS If you click on the image above it will become larger and you will be able to see that Miami is spelled out with all of our photos. Pretty cool, huh. Well it is very easy to do with a FREE program called Shape Collage. Click here to download it.

We are heading home...

Currently in transit from Miami to Maputo. We had a great time in Miami, but after 6 weeks we are looking forward to landing in our own beds in about 2o hours. I can't wait to catch everyone up on our trip....

I apologize for the lack of posts, but we didn't have a very reliable internet connection while in Miami. We were using the free wifi from the City of Miami Beach and it seemed like there we only a couple of hours a day when it would actually work.

More to come on the trip soon...

The Perfect Afternoon Lunch

My friend Wendy is the ultimate host and I have always been in awe of her parties. Well, this past weekend I was able to experience one her events first hand. She hosted a lunch in honor of....me! Thanks Wendy. The party and the details were amazing.

I also want to thank all the girls that went. We really had a great time catching up and making our own jewelry. Here are some of the pics and details:

Here you see Wendy at work...

The beautiful cake...

The beads for our jewelry making...

One of the bracelets we made (Lina's)...

When Luka arrived he joined in the fun too...

For more pictures from the day's festivities click here.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning I woke up next to my two favorite boys in the world and with a kick in my belly and I couldn't help but think that this is the best Valentine's Day I have ever had. I didn't go on a romantic date with JJ or open a box of chocolates, but I spent the day with my favorite boys and some great friends.

We went to the zoo and got really close to some giraffes. It was amazing. I mean we have seen tons of giraffes in South Africa, but we have never been this close and have them feed from our hands...not to mention have them lick our hands and arms! Luka's face was worth every penny we paid to go to the zoo...PRICELESS.

We shared this zoo date with our friends Wendy & Brandon and then Wendy made a fabulous dinner. She even made felt hearts for everyone to wear...alla Julie & Julia...did you see the movie?

The Happiest Place on Earth...Even with the Rain

We spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and we had a great time despite the non-stop rain. Luka really got a kick out of all the characters and some of the rides. His favorite rides were Alladin's Carpet Ride and Dumbo. I think he rode those rides a combined 5 times!

But by far the highlight of the day was meeting Minnie & Mickey. He couldn't believe it. He was totally smitten with Minnie's kiss.

For more photos from our Orlando visit click here.

Baby van Herksen @ 25 weeks

Here is a photo of what our little one looks like at 25 weeks. I still think he or she looks like JJ...