No Pasa Nada December 29, 2008

Hola, friends! Nothing’s happening… I am STILL with child, baby is healthy and I’m feeling well. I’m feeling quite SUPER-SIZED, but doing as well as can be expected.

 

Here’s a quick belly shot, as of 39 weeks and 5 days:

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all did as well. It was mostly quiet and restful. We celebrated with all three families (Dec. 21 and 25) and were able to get quality time with everyone, including my parents who are home from Arizona, Joe’s aunt who is home from Charlottesville and my oldest nephew who is home from Houston.

 

Two things I cannot do without these days are 1) my yoga ball and 2) a really good book:

 

My doula, Megan, turned me on to the yoga ball a few weeks ago and it’s been a Godsend. It’s great for stretching my legs and watching TV/reading during those times when you just can’t stand to be sitting down (in the traditional sense) anymore, or you’ve already been up moving/walking around for awhile.

 

Joe’s grandma gave me “Outliers” (the third from Malcolm Gladwell) for Christmas and I just finished it yesterday. I’m highly recommending it to anyone looking for a good, quick read over the holidays. It was a nice break from my recent streak of Elizabethan Era novels.

 

Well, that’s it from our house for this week… Until we have more news to share, Happy New Year to everyone and stay warm!

Active but contained December 22, 2008

Many of you have been checking in with us, knowing the infamous due date is about nine days out. Well, nothing’s shakin’. Baby C is active but well contained, and I can’t say I blame him or her. Do you realize we awoke today to -10-degree temps here in the frozen tundra? I’d stay where it’s guaranteed to be nice and warm, too.

 

There’s really not much to report this week. Joe has kept me distracted through the game of HOCKEY. Yes, at one point recently we attended three hockey games during a six-day stretch: a high school game, a college game and an NHL game. Are we completely Minnesota, or what?

 

My former SID (sports information director/geek) self will also share that we watched ”our teams” — the ones we came to cheer for — rack up SEVEN consecutive scoreless periods before the Wild finally got one past the Flames last Wed. night. But Minnesota lost that game 3-2 in OT as part of Marian Gaborik’s big return.  Surely, you’re dying to know about the other games… OK: My sister-in-law’s son plays for Stillwater High School and they fell 2-0 to Roseville, followed by the Golden Gophers losing 1-0 to Colorado College (which, KJ, meant no jubilant “spelling song”, a.k.a. Minnesota Rouser, all night long).

 

Baby seems to like all of these hockey games. Lots of kicking and moving and such. But just to be fair, I countered by parking myself on the couch and watching plenty of NCAA women’s sports over the long weekend: two Stanford women’s hoops losses (at Duke and at Tennessee) and two Stanford women’s volleyball games (a national semifinal win over Texas followed by a loss in the championship game to “We Are Penn State”). Baby does NOT like it when Pac-10 teams lose, but I guess it’s an early life lesson: Things can’t always go our way.

 

 

So, things are good here. We’re watching lots of TV, staying inside where it’s warm, getting rest and doing tons of reading. I can’t believe one has to be pregnant to finally make room in life for this kind of first-class R&R.

It’s not about the stuff December 17, 2008

But looking at “Baby C stuff” these days sure makes me smile… It’s like I told Aunt LaVae in Charlottesville recently, when I peek into the nursery and see that crib just waiting, I can almost feel the spirit of our little one about to join us.

 

But, there’s more waiting to be done… We’re at exactly 38 weeks today. I feel like air traffic control this week. We’ve prepared the runway and prepped for about as much as one possibly can. Now it’s time to relax and wait for the landing. I’m very much at peace, however (I’m the type of person who likes to plan ahead as much as possible — almost to a fault — but then I truly do RELAX at the end, knowing I’ve done what I can do, so to speak).

 

I’m glad I’m a crazy planner like that, since I have zero energy lately. I’m uncomfortable + can’t sleep well through the night = extremely crabby. Nothing that millions of moms-to-be haven’t dealt with before, but new to me.  And I’m one that likes my 6-7 hours of sleep each night.

 

So, in the spirit of being really tired during my lunch hour and not having much to say… I bring you snapshots of BABY C STUFF. Remember, it’s sooooo NOT about the stuff. It’s looking at it and thinking about him or her that brings a smile to my face and sends a warm rush through me. I ‘m super anxious for the big debut!

 Infant carrier/car seat

 

A cozy crib

 

Red race car slippers – a gift from friends  

 

The essentials: Little side-snap T’s and booties 

 

Bath-time needs

 

A fluffy winter snowsuit and other soft-n-fuzzies

 

Lil’ G diapers!

 

Stroller and pack-n-play assembly in the basement/man room

Baby Love and Pizza December 9, 2008

Here’s a sneak peek of Joe playing the role of dad… Does he look like a natural, or what?!

 

 

 

 He’s actually playing the real-life part of “Uncle Joe” to little Ruby, three-month-old daughter of Joe’s best friend Mike and his wife, Stacy. Missing from our pics is Ruby’s big sister Tess, age 2 1/2.

 

The family moved back home to Minnesota (from Chicago) just over a year ago, and we are sooooo lucky to have such wonderful friends close by, here in the Twin Cities. We can’t wait for Baby C to meet Tess, Ruby, Mike and Stace! Thanks for the fun time Sunday, guys.

 

Speaking of Chicago… Last night for dinner, we feasted on a lovely Chicago-style pepperoni pizza from TasteofChicago.com, shipped to our door as a surprise, compliments of BFF KJ. Thank you, KJ! We could only wait a few days before thawing it out and baking it. KJ visited us in early November and recalled me complaining: “We can’t get good Chicago-style pizza here … ” (insert more whining, etc.). She decided a crabby, pregnant woman had better have her way.

 

WOW, did we hit the jackpot or what? This delightful pie cooked up like a charm, full of flavor and all… Here are the pics to prove it. If Baby C has any of his/her dad’s tastebuds, the kid is floating in amniotic fluid heaven right now. Yum.

 

 

Hi, EOB: Lastly, this is a shout out to my good friend Erin in Boston. “EOB” gave me an earful the other week about always posting belly shots but never a full-length photo of myself. Well, EOB, that’s because I always look like HELL at the end of the day, my face is puffed out, I sweat uncontrollably (even in winter!), and you’ll get to see plenty shots of me looking hagged out while holding Baby C — soon enough.

 

So, here’s a Full Monty shot from the pregnancy portraits I had taken a few weeks ago. The lighting carefully hides the bags under my eyes and MOST of my double chins… EOB, think of me this way. I bet you’ve never seen my belly button before.  ;-)

 

Always, the little things December 1, 2008

This past week marked our fifth Thanksgiving together, and it got me to thinking about how tough things used to be when we were dating and living on opposite coasts…

 

Baltimore and San Francisco. Dealing with phone calls and a three-hour time change. Weeks apart, missing each other. Taking red eyes all the time. And later on, when Joe moved to Minneapolis, HATING that Sunday night return flight to SFO.

 

It also helped me realize how appreciative I am for some of the little (and very big) things in our lives:

• Time spent together, without having to hop planes
• Close access to loving famillies, times 3
• Great friendships: Those we’re building here in Minnesota added to those from our former cities
• Our small, progressive neighborhood (with close access to Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market for days when you just need a few bananas) 
• Short commutes!!
• Going to matinee movies during the offseason (esp. those starring Hugh Jackman)
• And, despite the ARCTIC weather here this time of year, yes, I am thankful for MSP: A place to make our very own together

And, a few other things I’m thankful for this week…

 

A healthy belly at 35 1/2 weeks (with one very active tenant)

 

A husband willing to tackle home improvement on the weekends (he’s adding carpet strips to the wooden stairway to “slip-proof” it before Baby arrives)

 

So, what are the little things that make you smile these days?