My First Post!

Now I am on the spot! First of all, I wanted to thank to my wonderful husband Ed for creating this baby blog for us. Memories like this are treasure and we will share them with the family and our children forever. I just started my second trimester in my pregnancy. The first one and the most challenging one is over. Thanks Mary Lee for the Saltine Crackers recommendation. I always keep them next to my bed and in the car in case I get nauseous. You really have saved me from many trips to the bathroom.
I already can feel the change in my body. Now my tummy doesn't look like a person after eating lunch, but actually it is starting to have the shape of a pregnant mommy. The food tastes better, and I have more appetite now. However, I can't walk by the kitchen too much since the smell of food is still making me sick, most of the times when the food is being prepared or warmed up. My nails feel stronger than ever. They look long and beautiful and my hair is growing even more!
This is a very exciting moment and stage in my life and indeed the best year in my life so far. 2008 has been a year full of blessings: My marriage with the best man in the world, my upcoming baby, my graduation and our trip to Peru after 8 years and finally bring my husband to my homeland and introduce him to the rest of my family! I can't wait.

Sir! Just What IS inside that Bag?

I see the voting booths have closed on the "What is inside that gigantic bag Ed is holding, and why is he smiling like never before?".

And the results are in:

Baby clothes received the most votes, how intuitive you all are, but the voter did have the opportunity to select more than one item, after all it is a big bag!

The next runner up choice there was a tie between Daniel Mendoza (famed 15 year old piano prodigy and my brother-in-law) and Peruvian crafts. Once again, hats off to your keen powers of association (with crafts, not with Daniel).

Surprisingly, no one chose rice (it does look like a big bag of 'lumpy' rice, but then again I would have to be quite strong and I would not be smiling.) Most unsurprisingly, no one selected Paco Gutierrez nor bottles of Pisco (Peruvian Grappa) - both of whom are quite good friends of mine. Paco is Kathy's 78 year old grandfather and he is as strong as a bottle of Pisco. His favorite past-times include long walks around the neighborhood in search of fruit from the neighbors trees!, and crossword/word search puzzles (the $1.99 Walgreens brand is his favorite).

Side Note: Peruvian Pisco, is the main ingredient of the famed Pisco Sour, served with a healthy froth of raw egg whites, thus explaining its scarcity at your local Chili's or Outback Steakhouse Bar. When in Peru, one must have a Pisco Sour, especially on February 2nd, which is National Pisco Sour Day. Read more about the famed Pisco Sour and its fascinating history.


Enough about Pisco! Let's get to the correct answers! The final and most correct answer of the puzzle is the following triplet (I should be careful using that word on a baby blog!):

1. Baby Clothes
2. Peruvian Crafts
3. Jewelry

Specifically: 45 jewelry sets, 33 handbags, 34 hats, 6 sweaters, and 4 ponchos!

Why is this so important and what does this have to do with the Baby Blog? Well, what you see in the photo represents the very beginning of "Lindo Peru" - which is our business of importing beautiful items from Peru and selling them online and also, later down the road, at famer's markets and shopping center booths.

Kathy and I will be in Peru for 4 weeks over Christmas (12/23 - 1/18), and we will be having so much fun going to the markets and selecting more beautiful items to bring back with us. Of course I will be the invisible gringo, and Orlando and Christian and Ghil I hope can help us make the rounds. Kathy and I will be able to carrying on her mother's tradition of benevolence by helping out the poor kids in Lima, Peru. We plan on redirecting 10% of our proceeds to Peruvian Charities such as Better Peru, Org. Sonia's dream is to establish a children's music school in Lima, and who knows, this could be the seeds which sow that reality.

We have defined our mission statement as:

The mission of ‘Lindo Peru’ is to raise awareness of Peruvian products and inspire the world to purchase high quality, safe, and environmentally conscious products from Peru which will help families in Peru to achieve a higher quality of life.

Lindo Peru will also be the home-based business Kathy and I focus on after the birth. Kathy and I will be able to dedicate efforts on the business, in between the cries and diaper changes. Also, since I am planning on taking the maximum amount of family leave for the birth (12 weeks!), hopefully I will be running to the post office every other day to ship Lindo Peru products!

Our website is live and fully functional! If you could help us spread the word about Lindo Peru to our extended friends and family members we'd appreciate it! Now is the perfect time to pick up a little stocking stuffer, the prices range from $5 to $20 dollars. Have a look, and if you have any suggestions or improvements please let Kathy and I know! I can't wait what shipment #2 is going to look like, hopefully it will be too big to carry! Don't worry, there won't be another gallop poll! I am already having delusions of shipping containers and trans-pacific vessels hauling Peruvian Jewelry, Purses, Chullo Hats, etc. Perhaps we will put Paco in there this time! We miss Paco very much as he is in Peru now after his long stay. I am so glad to have a grandfather once again, well... grandfather-in-law.

Special thanks to Natali and Daniel for helping out with the photo shoot for the website products! Here is a quick picture of the happy faces right before taking the photos for the website:

Signs of Becoming a Daddy

Despite having laser eye surgery a few years ago, a routine check-up to the eye doctor has resulted in the prescription of reading glasses! If these don't make me look like a daddy, I don't know what will. I only wear them while on the computer and the occasional moment when actually picking up a book. But then again, I am reading many pregnancy books.

Here is the new look, like it or not, here comes daddy. Now I can peer over the top of the glasses and practice my disapproving look (I think I learned that from Charlie). I can call my Dad Charlie now, since we're now on 'common ground'. Or maybe not, he'll always be dear (ole) Dad.

"The Business of Being Born", a Movie

Kathy's friend at school recommended to us a very powerful movie called "The Business of Being Born", produced by Ricki Lake.




We're so glad we watched this movie, and feel more informed about what to expect at the hospital. We have so many questions now for our OBGYN, and have decided to write up a birth plan.

What are your thoughts about having a natural birth? We would love your input on this topic! In our collective family, we have relatives who are nurses and work in the hospital industry and we'd love your insight or references to other educational material - so that Kathy and I can make an informed decision.

This movie was a godsend! You can pick it up at Netflix.

Delivery from the Stork?! Guess what's inside...

Since we are at the 12th week marker, we are a bit early for a delivery from the stork, but we received this mysterious package!



This is an exciting time for Kathy and I, and this package only adds to the excitement!

Kathy and I will tell you what is inside on 11/16, but until then, you will have to start guessing! There is a poll to the right in which you can cast your vote.

Entering 12th Week

We visited with Dr. Chandler yesterday for our 2nd OBGYN appointment, everything is going great. The saltine crackers (as recommended by Mary Lee!) are working their magic against nausea.

We had our 2nd ultrasound, and oh my God what changes have occurred! From a little gummy bear sized baby with a beating heart, the baby is now formed, arms and legs were flailing about in the ultrasound video. The baby is active, and we could see the babies hands, silhouette of a face and chin. Kathy and I were so blown away by this experience, it moved us deeply.

Our baby is now around 5 centimeters in size!

Here are the ultrasound photos at 11 weeks 5 days!

Can you see a hint of the Cosgrove jaw? :)

Photo Slideshow Clarification (to the right)

Just to let you know, the babies appearing in the photo slideshow off to the right side of the website are from the Halloween party at Little Stars Daycare, Kathy's family business.

You can see these cute kids here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_and_kathy/sets/72157608553473175/


Just wanted to clarify in case you might think we are becoming (more) obsessed with babies!