4 months pregnant!

Today marks me being 4 months pregnant, and in honor of the occasion, I bought my first little baby outfit. Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen??!!!



And even the back is adorable!!



I'm thinking this is going to make a good present to one of my other mom friends if I'm having a boy!! :)

Here's a belly shot at four months pregnant.




Happy New Year everyone! I'm going to be enjoying my sparkling peach cider tonight while you all get silly and feel sick tomorrow. :)

Belly Shots

This week I have just started noticing my belly really beginning to POP! It seemed like nothing was happening forever, (except in the upper chest region!) and then all of a sudden my pants are snug and I have a little bump! It's the first time in my life where I'm excited for a little bit of belly growth. Never thought that would happen.

Here are some belly shots for comparison:

              3 weeks                                    

And here is a picture from
tonight, at 14 weeks pregnant:

I can't help but giggle when I compare these pictures, because it looks like I'm puffing out my stomach after a big dinner in the second photo. I'm not, believe me.

I'm going Maternity Clothes shopping this weekend-- oh boy!

Volunteering Fun

Last Friday, I arranged for a group of my Pfizer co-workers to volunteer at St. Mary's Food Bank in downtown Phoenix.  

Our job was extremely complex, as illustrated below:

We portioned carrots out of large 50 lb bags into smaller bags to be given out in food boxes for needy families.  

Okay, so it wasn't really very complex.  But still.  It was nice to do something small to help out, and the need this year is so incredibly high.  Before we began volunteering, the staff gave us some details on the history of the food bank.  Apparently, St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix was the first food bank ever established in the world!  Wow!  They distribute 230,000 lbs of food to hungry families and shelters on a DAILY basis!  Amazing.  Also, we learned that in Phoenix, if you take a typical classroom of 30 children, 6 of them wake up hungry and don't know when or where their next meal is.  It's heartbreaking.  So please donate to your local food bank if you are able to!   Or if you are able to get a group of friends or co-workers together, they have volunteer shifts from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.  Just call them at 602 343-3128 to set it up.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon!

The BEST chocolate cake ever....

If you have even the slightest interest in chocolate and/or baking, you MUST make this cake. I have been reading The Pioneer Woman's blog (which is great!) and came across the recipe, and from the photos, it reminded me of a cake that a coworker of mine used to bring into work years ago. So I just made it today and now I have to restrain myself from devouring the whole thing. My friend used to call it Texas Sheet Cake, and it was good at the time, but I just realized today that the key thing missing from it was eating it WARM!!! You need to try it to believe it! Am I just being a pregnant piggie, you may be wondering? Quite possibly, but don't judge until you try.


Gestational Diabetes here I COME! (Eeek, just kidding, I shouldn't joke about these things--how horrible!)

Here is the recipe. YUMMY!

95% pink?

We had another ultrasound today for some general screening. Everything is looking great! And the ultrasound tech said that she thinks it's a girl.... I'm 12 weeks along, which is still early for gender identification, so I asked her how sure she was. She said, "oh about 95%!" But she said not to go painting any nurseries just yet because she has been wrong before! So we are excited! Either way, it's going to be fun. She (or 5% possibly he?) had her little ankles crossed and she mostly just slept through the whole thing. Then we tried to shake my belly a little to get her to move around and she finally kicked her feet as if to say, "hey, what's the big deal out there?" We got to see the brain and the chambers of the heart. I couldn't believe that it was all there and here I am not even looking pregnant yet (aside from the chest area, I haven't really grown much). It's all so amazing to me.

Here's a profile view of the little munchkin:



And here's a general view of her little body:



And finally, here's a view of the little kidlet's brain. Yes, I am such a dork and I'm interested in the brain. You're looking down at the top of her head:

Patience pays off

I woke up this morning to some unusual Phoenix weather: rain! It has been gloomy, gray and chilly all day, and when lunchtime rolled around, I was craving some soup (to go with the weather), so I decided to stop at Paradise Bakery. The line was out the door, but I was a pregnant woman on a mission for some soup! So I persevered. After 15 minutes of standing in line, I finally reached the soup counter and asked the woman for a bowl of chicken noodle. She sharply said, "We're out of that. They are making some more in the back. Move to the side and I'll get you a bowl when it's ready." Maybe it's just my hormones, but I'm pretty sure there was some serious attitude in her delivery. Oh well, I was determined to get my soup, so I stepped aside and waited. And waited. About 15 minutes later, the manager asked me if I was being helped and I told him that I was waiting for the chicken noodle soup to be ready. He seemed satisfied with that and continued helping customers. That was when I noticed other customers walking by with...(you know what's coming) CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP! What? Oh, I don't think so! I politely waited for him to finish with his customer and stepped in and asked him if I might get that bowl of soup now. He apologized profusely, gave me the soup, and then threw in four big slices of yummy bread and 6 cookies! Yep! Patience definitely pays.
So in all, it was a 45 minute bowl of soup, but boy was it good! And the cookie definitely made the experience worthwhile.

And on another note, I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and got to hear the heartbeat! She said that the baby is a squirmer. She kept moving away from the microphone. The doctor was predicting it to be a girl based on her feistiness! We won't get to find out for sure until January, but it is fun making predictions until then. The heartbeat was 160 beats per minute and sounded like rhythmic swooshing. It was very cool! :)

Basketball Fun

Rich has been helping out his friend MIke with coaching a 7th & 8th grade basketball team lately. Mike is a 7th grade teacher and is new to the coaching scene, and Rich, being an overall sports lover, was eager to get involved. He has taken it so seriously! It is pretty cute, but sometimes I fear the future sports-nut-parent that I see in him. He is drawing out offensive plays and coming up with serious practice routines. He is frustrated with their lack of time (only 4 hours of practice a week!) and just doesn't think they can get it together in time. Last night was their first game, so I came to watch and cheer them on. My first impression was how LITTLE they were! It suddenly hit me that these little boys were the center of all of this serious basketball strategy that has been discussed in my home lately. How funny! Well, they won their first game by a landslide (45 to 19) and Coach S. was very happy last night. Of course, on the way home, he somberly commented that they would have some much tougher teams to play and he hoped that they didn't think this game was a sign of how easy all the teams would be! ha! I hope he isn't going to be one of those over-the-top Dads at our kids' games one day!

It's a jungle out there.

One day this week I woke up to quite the commotion coming from the living room. In my sleepy stumble, I walked into a room covered in leaves. Literally.



And Sadie was there to greet me with a present!


How sweet.

Updates...

I can't decide which pregnancy symptom I like the most:

Is it the sudden introduction of acne to my complexion that I've never experienced, even as a teenager?

Or maybe the 24 hour nausea?

Or the complete loss of interest in foods that I have always loved, even when I am starving?

Hmm... sounds like fun huh? I am complaining only half-heartedly though, because I know it will all be worth it in the end, and that it's all part of the ride. It was so awesome seeing that little baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound screen, so nothing can bring me down! ;)

War and Peace

Here is a photo of our pups being peaceful... Can you saw "Awww??...."



And not even two minutes later, here is the beginning of the conflict....



Can't we all just get along? This "War and Peace" is a constant in our household, whether it is 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. I can't even get these silly dogs to behave. What am I in for when it comes to motherhood??? Ahhh!

I'm tired.

I know that it's a common pregnancy symptom, but I didn't think it would be like this. I'm so tired. That's all I have to say today. :)

Oh, and that my baby is the size of a lentil bean. Funny, huh.

Ultrasound #1!

This has been a stressful and overwhelming week. Added onto the normal hustle and bustle of life, I have been studying for 2 midterms, worrying about my renters who canceled their lease five months early, and wondering if I will have a job in 2009. BUT.....today is our first ultrasound. So that excitement is enough to take away the stress from everything else. I can't wait to experience this! It still doesn't seem real, but I think hearing that baby's heartbeat will really make it sink in for us. :)


Update: The ultrasound went well, but we found out that our dates were a bit off. I'm only 6 weeks along instead of 9 weeks like I thought. So no heartbeat yet, but she scheduled me for a repeat ultrasound in a week so we can try again. Other than that, everything seems to be progressing well!

Water Conservation, or not?

What exactly is going on in this photo?  Aside from the trio of pool toys, notice the concrete edge of the pool.  Then notice the water that is, yes, right AT the edge of the pool.  Normally, the water doesn't start until 5 inches below this. But Rich we forgot to turn off the garden hose when we refilled the pool. And yes, we live in the desert, and should be conserving water, not wasting it! Bad mistake! Lesson learned: set a timer when turning on the garden hose!

The best birthday present ever!

I had a pretty amazing birthday present this year.  As I was driving home to get ready for dinner with friends it occurred to me that maybe I should stop at the drugstore....just in case.  I thought it might be a good idea to know for sure before I indulged in wine or beer for the birthday festivities.  So I bought two tests, came home and casually took one, not even thinking anything about it.  Sure enough....two pink lines!!!!  So I immediately called Rich at work to tell him--and he said take another test!  And...yep, I'm pregnant!   I'm about 8 weeks along, and we go for the first ultrasound next week.   So tentatively, we're looking at May 23 for the due date. I'm super excited and terrified all at once.

Rich and I went shopping last night for another friend of ours who is having a baby, and it was a little overwhelming to walk through the baby aisles.  We have so much to learn!!!  

29?

You know the feeling.  You spend the night in a hotel, or a friend's house, or somewhere else you're not used to.  And you wake up in the dark confused, because even though you can't see anything to know you're in the wrong place, you feel it.  It's that feeling of disorientation, of knowing that you are there, but not knowing where 'there' is.  That's what today is. I'm 29, and I have to ask the question, "How did I get here?"  I feel like I was 18 just a day or two ago.  How did time go by this quickly?

Dance like no one is watching...

When I was a kid, I loved to dance. I didn't know how to dance, but at the time, I didn't really care.  When I heard a song that I liked, I made the adults sit down on the couch and watch my performance....which consisted of a few leaps, jumps, and sprints from one side of the room to the other.  It was quite comical, as they have loved to tell me even to this day.  And somewhere along the path of growing up, I learned that dancing should be done a certain way, should be contained and left to those who 'know' how to do it.  In some ways, it's sad, because there really is no joy like unrestrained DANCING.  This video, done by Matt Harding, is so inspirational because it shows that people from all over the world know this same joy and that it connects us.  And in a time when the news has a different war story on it everyday, it's important to search for these connections, to know that despite different beliefs, languages and colors, we all have a desire to know joy and love and laughter.  Enjoy....

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Twenty-eight in Review.

I am turning 29 next week, so in the spirit of reflection, here are 28 things I did when I was 28:

1.  Laughed and celebrated with friends.

2.  Changed my hairstyle.  And ate a lot of sushi.

3.  Spent time with family.

   

4.  Went to my first hockey game.

5.  Dressed up for Halloween.

6.  Carved our first Halloween pumpkin.

7.  Got engaged!

8.  Went to the zoo.

9.  Held a Sushi-making party.

10.  Listened to some amazing refined music.

11.  Goofed around.

12.  Attended my first black-tie wedding & spent quality time with my new family.

13.  Got "Maui'ed."

  

14.  Got "mugged" by a humpback whale.  It was heart-stopping & beautiful.

15.  Jumped into a canyon with only a helmet and a cable to support me.

16.  Lost my sanity.  Adopted Sadie that same day.  Coincidence?  

17.  Had a wonderful visit with my Georgia family.

18.  Golfed.

    

19.  Hiked to a waterfall.

20.  Bought a hammock.

 

21.  Went on some great dates.

 

22.  Slept.  A lot. 

23.  Went to a John Mayer concert.

24.  Changed my hairstyle again.

25.  Went to a Dodger's game.

26.  Danced. 

27.  Reflected on the past.

28.  Looked forward to the future.

What a year!

Puzzle me this?

Rich and I have been spending our evenings putting together a puzzle. Kind of strange for twenty something year olds, isn't it? I'm the one who bought it, and I think Rich is indulging me by participating, but nevertheless it's methodical and therefore comforting. Who knew? We're almost done with it--so maybe we'll move on to Bingo or Shuffleboard next! :)

Friendship

Saundra came to visit me this week. We drove from Phoenix to San Diego to visit Alice over the weekend. The three of us have been friends for four years, and even though that may not seem like too long, it is amazing how much we have gone through in that short period.

Here is a photo from our training class in July 2004:


And here is one from this weekend:


The obvious change is a new face: Emily! She's now two and a half, and a sweet, beautiful little girl. The rest of the changes can't be seen in our photo. So much has happened in these four short years, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for all of us.

As for this trip, some highlights:
*Box seats at the Dodgers game, complete with a view of Larry King Live. Really, as in he was "live," five seats away from us! Alice is pinching him in this photo:

*A late night chat that was wonderful and soul-soothing
*A delicious breakfast at the Pancake House and a yummy homemade gumbo dinner by Alice
*A detour to Mexico by Saundra and me, or so the border official told us, as seen below:

*Some fun photo opps, like this one:


Overall, it was a great reunion trip. I wish we lived in the same part of the country, but until then, we'll have to keep up on our little visits!