November Arrives & We Return to the Capital District

Welcome November :)
One of my favorite months!!  Thanksgiving, the beginnings of winter weather, two no-school holidays, & the start to holiday shopping :)  First & foremost I need to acknowledge the reason we had this three day weekend- Veterans Day.  I try to keep our vets in my thoughts & prayers year-round and everyday when I say the pledge.  I also like to remind people that while our brave men & women in the military fight for us & make sacrifices for us everyday; we also have so many military working dogs serving as well.  These animals protect our soldiers and serve our country without much recognition.  When these dogs get older & retire from military service, they are able to be adopted and deserve loving homes.  For more information, see:  Dog Heroes Need Homes.   In honor of Veterans day, Roxy got all decked out in her patriotic dress & did a photo shoot:

Thank you Veterans!!

Ok so with Friday off....we headed upstate.  We did some shopping at the Crossgates Mall & met up with Jason for a drink at The Standard.  It was great to see him & he seems to really be enjoying living in the Albany area.  We checked into our hotel in East Greenbush & had dinner at The Sports Grille, then it was game time....

Jakki & The Post University Lady Eagles Come to Albany
Friday night Jakki made her NCAA Division II Women's Basketball debut.  The Post University Eagles faced Queens College in the opening round of the St. Rose tournament.  Post dominated the game early & Jakki played big minutes.  She played so well & we were so proud.  I couldn't help but tear up a little as I watched her run into the game for the first time & score those first points.  She finished with 17 points & was lead scorer in her first game!!  Saturday, the Eagles faced a much tougher (and taller) team in the St. Rose girls.  Jakki had even more minutes of play which was exciting to see.  Unfortunately, Post fell to St. Rose.  We had a blast cheering Jakki on.  Jakki had many supporters in the crowd, including her boyfriend Ryan (as always), her high school soccer coach, her dad & grandma, & a few of her Tri-Valley teammates from last year.  It's great to see her playing with all these really talented basketball players; this weekend she definitely proved she belongs in college basketball.  John & I are already planning when we can make another game!!

Sunk all her free throws like a pro

Still wearing 3-0

Our little getaway to Albany was so nice- it really made me miss living up there & having so much to do, so close.  A big thanks to Eileen & Kevin for dog/cat-sitting while we were away!!

My Ever-Growing Belly Bump :)

Here is what my mid-drift is looking like nowadays:

17 weeks

I'm starting to feel some weird flutters & pressure in my expanding waistline but no certain "oh that was the baby" moments yet.  Still waiting to feel a definitive kick.  I'm not sure what I'm feeling now isn't just digestion, my intestines moving north as baby grows, etc.  Hopefully "the quickening" as they call it, will happen soon :o)  We are about a week & a half away from our anatomy scan.  We'll get to see how our baby's organs are developing & hopefully if he/she isn't shy or positioned badly, we'll get to find out the sex!!