150 days to go

Man, time is flying by!! Lovebug will be here before we know it!

I know 150 days sounds like a long time, but you have to remember I was doing a countdown similar to this a year ago: the wedding countdown. It sounds like a long time, but it really isn't that long.

Though I have to say the countdown to the wedding was a piece of cake, and it inevitably ends with a nice wedding and a honeymoon; stress is over, and you finally relax. This countdown is pretty much the opposite!

It's 150 days to blissful sleepless nights; stress over every cry, every watery nose; waking up at the slightest noise. RIGHT NOW it's the time to relax, have a babymoon (Hawaii, baby!!), and enjoy the carelessness of time without kids (though with 2 puppies, we barely know what that's like...).

But though time is flying by, I'm enjoying every bit of this pregnancy! Sure, it's easy for me to say since I've had no morning sickness and just occasional mild nausea. And I haven't experienced the uncomfortable nights, wishing you could remove your belly and leave it on the night stand so you can get some sleep (yet!). But little by little, we're getting closer to Lovebug's arrival, and I know I'm going to miss feeling him/her move in there, and having a belly that grows every day. And knowing Lovebug is protected at all times in there.

But when we're really close, when I'm really uncomfortable, with a huge belly and suffering painful kicks on the ribs, I'll have something even better to look forward to: holding little Lovebug in my arms. It doesn't get any sweeter than that...

I can see...

the bottom of my belly button!! D'you know how long it's been since last time I saw it?? Neither do I, but I was a kid. A kid!! So, a while!

Ok, this is not that new, I noticed 2 days ago, but it's still shocking to me! I just hope that it doesn't pop out, that would be the worst part of pregnancy... (yes, I realize I won't feel the same way after the delivery)

We're starting the countdown to the big ultrasound (6 days!), and hoping Lovebug cooperates and we get a good view.

Though it'll be very exciting to know if we're having a boy or a girl, I'm most excited about seeing Lovebug. Last time we had an ultrasound we could barely see any body parts, and now we'll be able to see everything, all the way to a close up of his/her little heart. It's going to be mind blowing!

18 weeks!

Fiona got a little jealous that Neela got to be in picture last week, so she decided to pose for this one. Here we are!


I'm wearing tighter clothes this time around, so it's hard to see any difference... Will never make that mistake again...

You can see I'm wearing the bella band this week. Yeah, I can't do without it now, buttoning my jeans is very uncomfortable, since the button is right on top of Lovebug, and I unzip my jeans a bit too. (Was that too much information?? Sorry about that!!)

One more week until we find out if Lovebug is a boy of a girl. Yay!! Can't wait!

I'm so afraid...

Somehow, I didn't think about it before hand. Silly, I know, how could I not! But I really didn't. And now, now I'm afraid...

OF COURSE any child of Josh will be super active!! Lovebug moves ALL the time! Ever since last Sunday when it first happened, I feel Lovebug move, I don't know, at least 30 times a day?? At least! Aren't babies in utero supposed to sleep a lot?? WTH!!

I can see it now: Lovebug running around the house, chasing Neela (cause Fiona will not pay attention to her/him, she'll hide somewhere to nap in peace), and me chasing after them! Holy cow!! What did I get myself into??

(See? Right there! Lovebug adjusting positions, kicking away! Oh dear...)

Lovebug likes fish tacos

First of, let me tell you this is the 4th post of the day, so you may want to scroll down after reading this to get the whole scoop.

Back to topic. Lovebug likes fish tacos.


Sunday afternoon (at 16 weeks, 4 days), we were at Kristen and Mark's place, getting lunch before going to the race track, and Josh got me fish tacos. They were good, but let me be honest, they were no La Paz (Baja) fish tacos. However, they were pretty good. After lunch I just sat back on the couch and watched golf on TV (well, apparently we HAD to).

The guys (who were the ones that really HAD to watch it, not me!) were outside in the balcony, and I was sitting there relaxing, I felt something that didn't feel like anything else I've left before. "Wow. Was that...? No, no way.. can't be", I thought to myself. And I waited. And there it was again. WOW! Now, that was more like it!

I told Josh I thought I'd felt Lovebug move, and Caroline said "did it feel like a 'blup. blup.'?" Josh got this "what?" expression on his face, but I understood. Don't ask me why, but that's exactly the right way to describe it, like a blup.blup.

It surprised me because I was expecting to feel movement around my belly button area, but this was about 2 inches below my belly button. But it felt exactly the way I expected it to feel. Let's see if I can explain better. Put one of your arms in front of you, just so you can see it. With your opposite hand, bend your fingers and "stick" your bent index finger out. Get your index finger close to your arm, and brush it from left to right on it. Wait a second, and brush it from right to left. That's what it felt like (if I explained correctly, that is).

Since then I've been feeling movement, thought not quite as strong, regularly. That first one was strong and clear as water. Since then, Lovebug has gotten just as excited about fillet mignon, and popcorn!

It's still early for Josh to feel it from the outside, but I'll make sure he posts his impressions personally when it happens!!

Ok, enough updating. I must have lunch!

San Diego vacation

We had loads of fun!! First, we got to hang out with friends and family. That alone makes for a great time!

Second, we got to add 21 bird species to our list. That's right, 21!! Very exciting! (I know you're all very impressed and jealous...)

We had a great weekend with our friends Dave and Caroline, and Kristen and Mark. We went to LA and shared a wonderful afternoon with Dave's parents, Perry and Betsy (who are awesome!), and Eli and Alice (Dave and Caroline's adorable kids). We also walked to the beach to get our feet in the Pacific Ocean. Ok, the guys got all the way in and wrestled with the waves, we girls just waved to them while watching Eli play with sand.

We also had a great day at the Del Mar race track (though we all left with emptier pockets...). The guys got to play golf on Monday morning at Carmel Mountain Ranch, and had a great time (Josh is the one with details here), while supermom Caroline kindly helped me get a better a idea of what Lovebug will need (Thanks, Caroline!!).

Caroline and Dave had to go back to LA, but Kristen, Mark, Bari and Rob went with us to a Padres baseball game. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination a baseball fan, I don't really have any interest. But I must admit I had a great time! And the Padres won!! Grandma Debbie said Lovebug was good luck... I'd like to think so!

We also got to see San Diego Bay close and personal on a tour with Grandpa Chuck:


And we got to see the entire Zoo!! The San Diego Zoo is huge!! Luckily, we have memberships and we divided the walk in 3 visits. I was beat after each, but happy as a clam!! It's totally worth it!! A few pics:


Gotta love pink birds!! And no bird is pinker than the flamingo! Awesome feathers!

Otters just make me jealous! That's the life!


We got to see 2 pandas! One of their female pandas recently had a cub, and they'll be in hiding for a few weeks. These pandas are awesome!


This polar bear looks so freaking comfortable, I just want to cuddle with him! That would be too dangerous, though...

Riding the Skyfari (which, incidentally, is free with your membership!)

Awwww, we're so cute!!

This is on the entrance to Elephant Odissey. I would recommend it if you have the chance to go, it's awesome! It's a comparison of the mega fauna that used to live in California and the fauna of today.

Cute elephant!!


Meerkat. How cute is he?!?


More meerkats. These guys just crack me up!!

That's all I got! Thank you all in San Diego, we had a terrific time!!

Lovebug got gifts!!

The trip to San Diego was wonderful! We had a great time with friends and family, and doing things we wanted to. More details on that later.

Lovebug loved it, cause s/he was received with lots of love, and some great gifts!!

First, The Dwyers gave us a very generous gift card -- thank you!!


Our friends Kristen and Mark surprised us with this cutie:

It's a boa blanket, so cute! Nobody knew this, but the nursery theme will be zoo/safari, so they got it right! Thank you, guys!

And finally, Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Debbie provided the means of transportation:

With an awesome travel system! And:An infant carrier! And last but not least, Grandma Debbie got Lovebug the cutest little giraffe:



And it plays music. And it moves its head. And it's just adorable!! Thank you, Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Chuck!!

Thank you all! Lovebug, Josh and I are very thankful to have you around!

17 weeks!

I know, I've been a slacker... Well, not really, we were just really enjoying our vacation!!

So this week's belly pic is a day late, but Josh took it yesterday, so it's all good! Wanna see it?

I think the belly is a little bigger than last week, but not much. That's fine though, I'll be huge soon enough!

How big is Lovebug, you wonder? The size of a hockey puck!


And for you vegetable lovers, Lovebug is the size of an onion!

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

How about that?

16 weeks!!

Behold... the return of our friendly blue line!! As promised, here's a comparison of weeks 14 and 16. I'm SURE you'll see a difference this week. And if you don't, you might want to get your eyes checked out... just saying.

Here we go: 14 vs 16 weeks.

And now, back to vacation! Please leave your comments if you have any!

Vacation time!!

San Diego, here we come!!

We're so excited to get 10 fabolous puppy-free, family and friends filled, days!! We sure need a vacation and what better way to spend some time than with family and friends! The perfect weather and the puppy-free time (a.k.a. wake-up-at-whatever-time-not-at-4:40am-YAY!-time) just add to it.

So, San Diego, here we come! Full of energy to hang by the pool, eat by the pool, watch TV near the pool... (can you tell we're looking forward to the pool?)

Oh, yeah, and visit Sharon, go to LA, and to a Padres baseball game (can I say I've been waiting for hot dogs for two months??), and just enjoy the fine company of our loved ones.

Does it get any better?? Oh, yeah, the pool!!!! HA! Kidding!!

So, San Diego, the three of us will see you soon!!

15 weeks!

I don't think anyone would suspect I'm pregnant if they see me walking down the street... but I *think* there's a bit of a difference between last week and this.

What do you think?

Also, remember last week I was telling you that I feel rounder? I hope the next pic gives a better idea of what I mean:

Can you see that belly, sneaking out under that shirt? Let me know if you can't and I'll give you a better picture in no time!

For those tired of the fruit size comparison, I have a good one for you. Lovebug is this big:


That's right! Lovebug is the size of a baseball!

I will still give you fruit comparison, though, cause it's fun and it has cool info in it!

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

I need a thunderstorm!

I think that's the answer, I really do. That would end the wildfire that has been releasing smoke into the air for days now, it would bring all those smoke particules down, and my headache would finally go away. After 3 days, I would love for it to go away.

Not to mention I would be more comfortable walking outside. The walk to the picnic area with Neela this morning... I almost didn't do it, it was so smoky out there! But I needed Neela to run around so she would sleep all day, so we did. But I'm so ready for this to be over. I can taste the smoke in the back of my throat.

Could anyone send some clouds my way? No? Didn't think so...

The thing about cravings is...

...you can try to forget about them, but you really can't. You can try to substitute, eat something else that sort of resembles whatever you crave, but that only buys you a bit more time.

And it's not an uncontrollable desire. It's not like the world is going to end if you don't satisfy your craving, it's not a matter of life or death. You can do without. But sometimes you have to ask yourself: why would I??


Why would I not eat cheesecake? Why would I try to fool myself with ice cream? (which was delicious! but didn't quite do it.) The answer is: because I'm lazy. I don't need to drive to the store to get a cheesecake, I don't need to leave the comfort of my house, especially when I have a headache, to satisfy a silly craving!

But my husband can! He's the sweetest! I didn't ask him to, he offered and jumped in the car, and he's on his way to bring home a cheesecake. All for me, cause he doesn't like it. Which means I get to grab a fork and dig in, just like that!! How amazing is he??

Gotta love him! I sure do!!