Maternity Leave has started!

So I finally have a few minutes to sit and write. I feel bad because I didn't post sooner, but here I go!

So, Layla is expected here in a little over 3 weeks. I am excited because on Wednesday she will be considered full term which means that she is ready to join us in this crazy world and fill mine with happiness :) My next appt is on Thursday and my mom will be coming with me. She has been very excited for her little grand daughter to join us and can't wait to start taking care of her! This is the first appt Hector is missing because he has a very important meeting that he can't miss, but its okay cause he has been there for all of the rest. He is super excited too, I'm definitely seeing a different side of him, but it's a side I have always wanted to see :) As of last week, she is weighing in at 6 lbs. 2 oz. She is expected to weigh 8 lbs if she stays till her due date.....All I can say is I hope she comes sooner! ay!!!!

Hector's sister Bea is coming at the end of the month with my 2 nephews, she is super excited! She will be an aunt for the first time. I can't wait to see her and the boys.

So today was my first official day on maternity leave and I woke up a lot earlier than I wanted to! lol I can't help but get out of bed between the many trips to the potty (she is on my bladder!) and I love eating breakfast! I woke up around 8:30, said bye to hec and ate some captain crunch lol.... mmmm I relaxed and then got to work around the house.

I was making some phone calls today trying to find a doctor for her....so many little things left to do, but luckily I stopped working 2 weeks early to get these things done. I meet one tomorrow and hopefully that will go well and I get a good feeling about the office and people when I get there. I meet another next tuesday so we will see who the lucky doctor will be!!

I started washing her things (onesies, blankets, etc) today :). She is already giving me mommy duties before getting here! lol

I am feeling good, which is great. I am getting those "fake contractions" that they call Braxton Hicks but nothing painful so far. I am definitely getting more and more excited each day.

Well I will update you soon! :)

Princess Prepping Party!!

Here we are, the big day! Well, not the arrival, but the Princes Prepping Party! Most of the titi's are here, getting things together, decorating, relaxing and filled with excitement.


Titi Jenn just made a really good punch! Yum! The rest of us are sitting around enjoying some soft sounds by Robin Thicke and eating crackers and cheese :-) We all have our A4 Titi shirts on. The food is in the oven. We're ready to go. Oops...Titi Jenn just broke a chair!!


Wow...Titi Nicole is in charge of bringing Mommy Jackie to the party, but she JUST got to Mommy's house so we're all still waiting...and hungry. Mommy has no idea what to expect! She will be arriving in about an hour and we can't wait to see her reaction when we all yell "SURPRISE!!"


From this point on, Mommy will be in charge of this blog. It will be her way of keeping all of us posted on all the crazy things little Layla gets into. We will all be commenting on anything and everything mommy adds in there. It will also be a great way to keep Titi Menchy and Titi Lisa in the loop since they live far away.

This is just the beginning of many great events surrounding Little Princes Layla. Yaaaaay Peter!!

Lots of love,

~Titi Shay, Titi Becky, Titi Jenn, Titi Mel, Titi Ladys, Titi Nicole

It's me Nik...

Usually I'm the first one to write up a blog... but for some reason I have not been able to express how I feel in writing. It's hard... I cannot express how happy and overjoyed I am to share in this excitement of welcoming a new A4 baby into this world! This past weekend our chapter at New Paltz had a mini baby-shower for Jackie during our alumni weekend... and I was a hot mess. I was crying like I was the pregnant one! LoL I have so many emotions (good, happy, and excited ones). I am overjoyed for the start of the addition to the Camilo family!

I remember when Jackie and Hector got married... I said "They are one of the lucky ones who has the love that will last forever!" I always admired them for their love for eachother. They are two of the greatest people I know... and for God to bless them with this kind of blessing is overwhelming! I wish them the best that God can give! I can't wait to meet you, Layla!

Love,
Titi Nik :)

P.S. I love my A4 girls!!! I will always say in addition to my college degree the best thing I earned from college was your friendship and love of A4! :)

Excited

Okay so as the day gets closer to our A4 shower I am really excited! I woke up this morning and had all these emotions. I can't wait to see Jax face (& feel the little baby kicking in excitement).
Looking forward to seeing everyone and playing the silly games shay has planned!! Yay!

So I think we should share the blog with Jackie during the shower. Jenn and I talked about it and said we'll do it in a card that i'll put together. This way she can start blogging from now until she has the baby. It just adds to the special day.


Just wanted to share. Love you all!

T-Shirts

Okay Ladies, here's what we're going to do about the t-shirts. I will buy the tank tops for everyone and then the day of the party everyone can just pay me back. I just need to know what size everyone wants their shirt. If someone wants to come with me to get the shirts, let me know. Also if someone has any ideas as to how the shirt should look feel free to make any suggestions.

~Jenn~

Party Update

Things are set in motion. Everyone has confirmed that they will be attending on May 3rd. Jackie is down--she thinks its a birthday brunch for her and Ladys.

DECORATIONS:
Ladys and I went to Party City today and bought some decorations for the house and plates for the food and dessert. We also picked up tiaras for everyone. I found the coupon book that I was talking about in an earlier post.

T-SHIRT/ONESIE:
If we want to do t-shirts and a onesie for the baby I went to Michael's the other day and picked up the iron on transfers because it was on clearance. Ladys said Old Navy has decent prices on wife beaters so we could each have a wife beater with our A4 Auntie names and then we could get a plain white or pink onesie and make one for the baby. Let me know what you think. Should I (or someone else) just pick up all the wife beaters and then people give me the money back the day of the shower or do you think that everyone should pick up their own shirt and get it to me to iron on the design. Opinions please. If you think one person should get all the shirts I need everyone to tell me what size they want their shirts.

FOOD:
Ladys spoke to the Italian restaurant. He said he could give us a tray of baked ziti, a chicken dish, salad and bread for $130. That comes out to about $21/person. Ladys is going to speak with him on Friday to see if he could give us a better price.

We found a recipe for a non-alcholic punch that we're going to make for the shower. If someone wants to pick up more drinks just let me know what you're going to bring.

DESSERT:
Jackie said she's going to bring a cheesecake and ice cream. I am going to speak to Carol to see if she'll make a cake for us. I haven't really seen her much to ask her but I will definitely speak to her this weekend. We're all set for desserts so no one really needs to bring anything else.

LATEST CAKE UPDATE: I spoke to Carol last night and she's going to make the cake for us. yayyy =)

~Jenn~

Titi Ladys

Well Litte Jackter you'll find out as you grow up that i'm a slave to work and sometimes it takes me sometime to do the things i'm supposed to lol but here i am. I want to rewrite what i wrote on my blog bc i think its important you know how persistent you are...even before you were born:


So as it turns out Jackie and Hector have found out they will be having a baby girl! yay!! i dont have any nieces or nephews or have hopes of having any anytime soon, so little Jackter will be the closest thing i have to a niece in the coming years. I'm still a little shocked that the girl that help me break out of my shell in highschool is pregnant with a little protege of our own hehe. i cant wait till she is born and becomes a part of our lives. the only thing is i wish they lived closer damn u guys trying to better ur lives by moving to rockland hehe. i know that they are going to be great parents, but i know that i will have a major role in her life and that is to DOMINICANIZE her as much as possible. so this is to my little Jackter:You sure are a persistent little one :) See your mommy does these disappearance acts and she'll fall off the face of the earth bc yes she is a very busy woman and all. but the rest of us always wonder what she's up to bc of course her and your aunt nik live the furthest away. So sometimes i worry when i dont hear from her from time to time or get frustrated with her bc i wish she would call more etc, but we wont get into that now lol. But you just kept coming into my dreams to let me know u were here, even if your mom wasnt ready to tell me. You did that for a few weeks almost everynight, you def'ly wanted me to know that you were coming. i thank you for that. you even made yourself a home in my belly, in my dream that is, just to let me know your mommy was pregnant. i think you and i already share a bond :) so thank you...the minute i started having those dreams i knew something was up..the minute she emailed everyone i already knew bc of you. so i will be around to domicanize you and show you how to dance bachata, and eat queso frito with mangu, and say things like baina, and appreciate spanish as your first language :) so i look forward to your arrival and watching you grow up.Congrats Jack and Hec!! start thinking of those names..maybe you can go the dominican route and name her juana iris or jackterina or heckie u know how we love to make up names hehe :)

that was when i found out. As your mommy's belly grows i'm still amazed that we're all having a baby girl in the group. Your mommy looks more beautiful everyday as her belly gets bigger with you growing inside. Like your other aunties said i'll definitely keep you in check bc we cant' any bratty babies around...but you will sure be the most stylish baby ever! and dont worry i'll buy you your first pair of red pumps for sure ..but for now i just cant wait to hold you and babysit when your mommy and daddy need some time alone.

Jackie i'm so glad i met you back when we were 14 i couldnt have asked for a better person to share my growing up with. You are going to be a great mom...jus dont get too addicted bc you have to wait for me for baby #2 haha. to the rest of the A4 girlies...you are all amazing i'm glad to be a part of this great group of friends. Muah!

~~Titi Ladys :)

BRAINSTORMING TIME

Ok girls its time to put our heads together and brainstorm some ideas for our baby shower...please write any ideas you may have. ~Jenn~


FOOD (What does everyone want to bring)
I can bring dessert...you know I can't cook so I'll buy something good and try to make it baby related. lol Let me know if you need me to bring beverages too :-) ~Sheila~

I can ask Carol to make the cake that she made for my birthday last year...its a chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting...its really really good. Right Shay?! LOL. Ladys said she's gonna check to see how much it would cost to order something from the restaurant around her house. We're going to talk more about it at dinner tonight. Shay I'll keep you updated ~Jenn~


GAMES TO PLAY
-Octo-Mom Diaper Challenge: Since the octo-mom is a single mother of 14 kids I think it would be interesting to see how we would do if we had 8 newborns and had to change their diapers before heading out to WalMart. We would have 8 dolls and a timer. The objective would be to change as many diapers before the time is up. ~Sheila~

(Mel said she probably has old dolls in her attic we could use and she could get some diapers from work for this game ~Jenn~)

-Who's My Mommy? We can do this like Jeopardy but with teams. There would be questions about celebs and their kids such as their names, or even matching the faces to the parent, etc. The team with the most points wins. (I would create the game and the point system so i wouldnt play...but it'll be fun) ~Sheila~

IDEAS FOR AN A4 PARTY FAVOR
-I like the idea of having a pin with our names or t-shirts that we can make with the iron-on idea. ~Sheila~

DECORATIONS
I'm going to party city tomorrow with Ladys to see what we can find. I'll check to see if they have tiaras since that was one of the first ideas Shay had. ~Jenn~



ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS
I was thinking of putting together a little coupon book for Jackie and need some help with ideas. I was thinking something like "One Free Diaper Change", "One Free baby sitting session" things like that...can anyone help with other ideas? ~Jenn~

Baby Girl's A4 name

okay now... since we all have our own names it's only natural to give this newcomer one.

Post some ideas!!!

****I would like for us to all chip in and get a onesie or bib made w/ the name on it. So def write back***

These are our names. Do you remember who's who?
Apple Jax
Sly-B
Shy-B
Slu-B
Lad-Ass
Melester
Ngster
Pinky

~Sly-B

I do! I do!!! But thats cheating hahaha since I'm the one who told you all the names LOL. how about a bib that says "A4--the next generation" Thats all I got for now I'll keep thinking. Maybe instead of ordering a onesie or bib we can go to micheal's and get the the iron on and do it ourselves--it would probably be cheaper and that way we dont have to wait to have it shipped and then it never come like our t-shirts that time. ~Jenn~

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ME ME ME!! Apple Jax is Jackie, Sly-B is Becky cuz her boobs always knew when to come out and when to be slick and stay in her shirt lol. Shy-B is my name because my boobs are always shy and reserved, Slu-B is Jenn because her boobs are sluts, Lad-Ass is obviously Ladys because of her big ass, Melester is Mel...the name is self explanatory, Ngster is Ng of course! and Pinky is Menchy because EVERYTHING was pink in her room!!! Yaaay!! What do i win?? I think the baby needs a cute name that will stick...how about...PETER!!!! LOL you know Jackie will love that one and the baby will grow up and be like WTF is wrong with my aunties?!?!? I just think it's funny. Think of a cute little 2 month old and we're all looking into her beautiful eyes like "awww peter...you're so cute!" lol I'll think of more if you guys dont like Peter lol. ~Sheila~


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HAHAHAHA Shay you're funny. I like it but feel sorry for our little A4 baby if she gets stuck with Peter as a nickname. Beck let me know if you want to order the shirt online or if you wanna do it ourselves. I can work on it if you want to just do it ourselves ~Jenn~

A4 SHOWER

MAY 3, 2009

@ 1:30 pm

Location: LADYS' LOVELY APT.



be there or be square.....


(.....i wanna be a triangle!)


(sorry beck---I made some small changes ~Jenn)

We have a date...

The date of Jackie's A4 Baby Shower has been set....

It will be Sunday May 3rd.

Time and place to be announced.

If anyone would like to volunteer their home for the baby shower please let me know.

I haven't heard from everyone as to whether the 3rd is going to work for you so please if you haven't already done so let me know if you're going to be able to make it on that day.

Also as the time gets closer we can start discussing what we're going to bring as far as food and drinks.

I'm excited!! Can't wait--this is should be fun. Our first A4 baby shower--damn we're growing up ladies.

~Jenn~

Jenn's Sentimental Moment...

Shay.....great job on the blog!! When we talked about it before you put it together I had some thoughts and ideas on how this blog should be---its everything I expected it to be and more!! Thanks for putting this together for us.

Due to the circumstances I am taking this time to have a sappy moment. Don't get used to it but I think its a must at this time. We may not always talk to each other and we may not see each other all the time but when we are all together we pick up right where we left off. I know that no matter how much time has gone by, we will always come together as a group in life changing moments. To me that is the true test of a friendship. You girls are definately the sisters I have always wanted but never had. Each of you have a very special place in my heart. I love you girls!!

With that said, can I just say I am soooooo excited about this baby. I LOVE BABIES I CAN SPOIL AND RETURN TO THEIR OWNERS!! This is going to be so much fun!!

I am honored to be amongst such great A4 Aunties!!

Another Great A4 Moment!!

I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement Nicole!!!

Seems like 2009 is off to a great start for our A4 family. First the great news about our newest little addition to the crew and now our Little Nikki is getting MARRIED!!! In a time where its easy to complain about the economy, the lack of jobs, people getting laid off right and left--I'm glad there are still good things happening to great people I love.

Nik-I'm glad you have finally found the one who you want to share your life with. I wish you and Pablo nothing but the best. You know a kinky A4 bachelorette party is in your future!! Love you Roomie!! ~Jenn~

A4 Munckinita

OMG shay first-- this page is great! i almost cried...
anywhooo I am sooo freaking excited to have a little baby join our crew. I can't help think of the Sex and City movie where Charlotte's daughter does everything with the group of girls. It's going to be great.


To Jackie,
When you read this you're probably going to be a big ol' round thing. But I wanted to say we are excited to share this life journey with you. You have been the first in major life moments it seems..first to get married and now first to have a baby. YaY! I can't wait till the little munckin is out of your belly and we can play with her. She's going ot be soo freakin cute. I know you say hecs genes are strong but let's see who's famiy genes will win. I bet she will look like you!

To all the other a4 princess' let's have a great time with this blog and opportunity to spoil this little girl.

I'm going to be the "emotional tell it how it is" titi---crying when she cries and letting her know what's up! ---><---

Ladys is going ot be the "tough love fashinista" titi. tough because she doesn't want her to be bratty and of course keeping her up-to-date on fashion! hehehe

Shay you're going to be the "you can have whatever you like" titi. the one that gets her her first ipod at like 2...lol.

Jenn your're going to be the "sure...just don't ask me to comb your hair" titi that gives her whatever she wants as long as you don't have to dress her and tells her to do all the naughty things....lol.

Nik you're going to be the "angel on her shoulder" titi. Telling her to NOT do the things jenn tells her to do.....wink wink.

Mel you're going to be the "care alot fix her up" titi that rubs her back when she's sick. (you know i gotta relate it to you being a nurse)

Lisa you're gong to the "travel" titi that brings her all cool stuff from your trips.

Mench you're going ot be the "cell phone" titi that she chats on the phone with her about the boys.

and Jacks going to have to me the mommy that explains all her crazy titis to her.....awww.

~BECKY

A Pretty Princess Prepping Party!!!

Ok Ladies! So I was thinking we should have a pre-baby shower A4 party for Jackie and the baby. I figured we can get together and do a little sleepover type of thing with lots and lots of girly things! Let's start throwing some ideas into this post and then we can split up and get things done in time for the party.

Pretty Princess Ideas:

• I think we should have the party late April so that Jackie isn't too far along and it doesn't clash with the baby shower. (sheila)
• We should all wear tiaras!!!! (come on guys...it'll be fun!) (sheila)
• We can write down little notes of advice on cute pieces of paper and link them on a string so Jackie can save them. (they can be silly or deep) (sheila)
• I think we can bring little gifts that you probably wouldn't bring to the baby shower. i.e. booties, a cute or funny onesie, etc. (sheila)
• Collect some baby pics of Hector and Jackie to create a baby book with some sort of "princess meets her prince" type of theme. It'll be personalized and it can be her firs tlittle book. (this is a whole side project tho) (sheila)
• We should bring baby pics of ourselves to share with each other. It would be a nice little girly bonding experience. (sheila)

Our First Little A4 Princess Is On The Way!!!!

I can't even begin to express the excitement I feel about us adding a baby girl to our A4 crew. I think we have a support system like no other and there is always someone to turn to. It will be amazing to see this little princess grow up around such a great group of women and to show her that we will be there for her no matter what. I can't wait to hear the little munchkin babbling, giggling and even crying. The fact that she will be a summer baby only makes things more exciting. I think for once, I'll be able to learn the way to Jackie's house...(actually Jackie might have to move since I plan to stalk her now lol). I look forward to the cute outfits and funny, silly moments we will all share with the first A4 Princess. This should make our sleepovers even more exciting! In the meantime, we can all have this blog as a place to share ideas, thoughts and wishes about the baby. Love you all ladies!!
Patiently waiting, Auntie Sheila :-)