Chicago Love

We just spent a few wonderful crazy days in Chicago. We packed in a visit to Mitchel & Heather's, a visit to Mom's, a baby shower, a haircut, a visit to Traci & Tom's, a visit to Dad's and a visit to Ray's Aunts Ruth & Marilou. Oh, and we returned with 100 pounds (literally) of baby goodies and hand-me-down clothes (thank you, Mitchel & Heather, for letting us raid your attic!!). In 3 days. Whew! There really is nothing better than spending time with people you love and it was good for my soul.

First of all, Mom and Heath, you are totally amazing for putting together that shower in only a couple of weeks and giving me a chance to see so many dear friends. Check out the cuteness:


And, of course, some pics of the kids:

Kyle the Diva: posing in Grandpa's pickup

Aubrynn the Tornado: getting into everything
Troy the Charmer: all smiles and chubby cheeks
Baby Tessa (Notice the ADORABLE Laura-made onesie!):Baby Parker... what is with little man playing hard to get?? Maybe he is camera shy. First my phone deletes my only picture of him and then we go visit and NO pictures were taken?! It must have been because I was too busy discussing nursing bras and *ahem* other necessities with Traci and the paparazzi (Ray) was having too much fun playing hide and seek with Jack. What I can tell you is that Parker is one cute, long and lean 3-4 week old! He definitely got his dad's soccer legs and I have a feeling he is going to be taller than Traci by the time he is like 11.

Baby Halo-Halo (When did this happen? It looks different from the top!):

While we were there we also found out that Uncie & Patti are expecting! I am excited to share this time with them and to add to Baby Halo-Halo's cousins/friends (or technically an aunt or uncle!) I hope they have a great pregnancy and that Patti & I survive the adventures Uncie & Ray cook up for the kids. Maybe Basi and Baby D will keep them in check... or not.

(All of our pics from Chicago are on Ray's smugmug.)

Friday giddiness

I am just so excited right now. Ray and I leave tomorrow for a few days in Chicago and I am beside myself with excitement at the prospect of seeing family and friends. And Ray is coming with! I get to hang out with people I love so much, meet Troy, Tessa and Parker, have some Chicago pizza (if the dairy police allows), get a cute haircut and feel the grounding that only your history can provide.

The only thing holding me back from jumping out of my skin with anticipation is the fact that we have to fly there... I have been a little more of a nervous flyer lately. Add to that the fact that last time I flew I was half-conscious and passed out on the plane... plus being 6 months pregnant... well, thank God Ray is with me or I might have worked myself into a panic attack on the plane. It is worth it all, though, to see (some of) you guys! I can't wait!

And next time I come home it will be with a baby - WHOA!

PLUS, we will be home only 2 weeks between Chicago and HAWAII! What a great month. :) :) :)

See many of you very soon! <3

Pregnancy Update

I had an appointment with my midwife a few days ago and thought I would fill ya'll in on the happenings of our pregnancy...

* All my vitals are good, baby is measuring on target and we are meeting normal milestones.

* Cervix is holding up well and has shown no signs of early dilation (woohoo!). My midwife said that the next risk to consider resulting from the cervical surgeries is that the scar tissue would prohibit dilation once we actually want it. Thankfully evening primrose oil can help in those cases, so I will be starting on that soon. Otherwise the tissue will have to be "broken up" during labor. I don't really know what that would feel like, but it doesn't sound pleasant and I would much rather avoid it!

* As of last week Baby Halo-Halo is considered "viable" (he has about a 50% chance of surviving if born now). Not an ideal situation, obviously, but comforting to know.

* We are not aware of any change in the High Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (the nasty cells on my cervix), but my midwife was optimistic that the labor itself results in enough sloughing off of cells that we can hope to get rid of the bad ones in the process. Lovely side effect I think.

* Baby Halo is not just kicking anymore, he is launching all out attacks on my insides these days. He has made me jump in surprise at work before. I think he gets bored at work sometimes (or maybe that is transference speaking). Ray is convinced that it is the Thai fighter instincts and he must be training for the big day in there.

* I have Group B Strep colonization. Not a problem for me, but Baby has a chance of dangerous infection at birth so I will need to get Penicillin via IV during birth.

* I am Rh negative. I have negative blood, Ray has positive blood. If my blood intermingles with the baby's for whatever reason, I can develop antibodies against his blood and in subsequent pregnancies my body will attack the fetus as an invader. To prevent the development of the antibodies I will be getting a Rhogam shot in a few weeks and then again after the birth.

* I have mentioned to some of you the crazy mystery pain I have been getting on and off for the past month (imagine someone stabbing you with a knife in your left ovary and then twisting it around for an hour or 3 while you kneel on the ground trying to breath and not lose your mind or throw up). Apparently this is simply "severe round ligament pain". Generally you have a quick stab of pain or dull stretching pain as this ligament stretches around your growing uterus. Not this kind of ridiculous torture which is very rare, but also nothing to worry about. I am not entirely convinced but my midwife is, so until I have a reason to doubt it I will go with her expert opinion.

* We have not started the nursery yet *gulp* or gotten any baby gear. We are not doing a lot, but I still meant to get it going before now. We did order a rug, so that might be the motivation I need to clean out the unwanted piles from the room!

Overall, things are going well for us. I feel pretty good on most days and the baby is healthy, so I am very happy with this pregnancy. 110 days left and counting...

May Day & the beached whale sighting

I was right that May Day was a little different this year, but good nonetheless. I forgot to take a picture of our luxury camp setup, but it did the trick in keeping me happy sleeping on the ground. I am pretty sure the dogs thought they had died and gone to heaven - swimming and running free, cleaning up food scraps, sleeping outside, with both of us, on an air mattress. The best of all worlds for them! In fact, they had so much fun that after all of the swimming and running they honestly could not walk for a couple of days. They forget they aren't as young as they used to be and cannot resist chasing a football being thrown back and forth and back and forth or following everyone that goes in and out of the water for HOURS.

paying the consequences... :(
Thanks to our friend Paul, we got the traditional belly shot
(the night shot gave the added bonus of the headlamps):

And our finger (bad) luck continues as Ray suffered a chopping accident that took a little chunk out of his finger - to the bone.

He didn't even take a Tylenol - what a tough guy:

And no, I do not normally wear bikinis. And yes, I did sport one shamelessly at 5.5 months pregnant. There was something freeing about the fact that everyone expected me to be huge and lumpy and cellulitey and pasty white. Like a pregnant badge of honor I wore self-consciously but proudly. At least I didn't have to worry about a pooch! :)

In all my glory:

Ray's full picture album is on his smugmug.

Childbirth class photo

I suppose our first childbirth class will always have a special place in my heart. Our class is mini-sized (the fourth couple is having twins and is on bedrest, so no group class for them). Our teacher, Zann, is completely nuts and also very knowledgeable. We are pretty sure she has a crush on Dylan (second from left). Oh, and she is 65. Everytime we leave class I laugh so hard I almost cry from all of the craziness that happened and I love it. And the information overload is perfect for a junkie like me. Just thought I would share what we are up to on Wednesday nights. :)

Tessa Marie & Parker Glenn

I realize this blog is becoming somewhat baby focused, but tis the time of our lives. And babies are just so exciting and cute!

I am happy to announce the arrival of 2 more little ones for us to love:

Laura & Jesse had a baby girl named
Tessa Marie on Sunday, August 9!

(some photos stolen from Jesse's Facebook)

Traci & Tom & big brother Jackson welcomed
Parker Glenn on Thursday, August 13!

(I only had one photo on my phone and it got deleted *sad face*)

I am so excited that my closest friends and I will have kids so close in age. I only wish we lived closer together, but we will always make an effort to be a part of their lives and make memories with our kids. Congrats to the new parents and many wishes for sleep-filled nights!

A different kind of May Day

4 or so years ago our friend Stephen organized a group camping trip for his birthday weekend in May. It was such a hit that it has become an annual "May Day" tradition, though it is almost never in May anymore. To call it camping is almost inaccurate because we lug in coolers and grills and lots and lots of food (last year we made pancakes - not your typical camping food!) Every year promises lots of relaxing, food and memories made. Here are some pics from last year:Tonight we leave for a weekend of fun and this year promises to be a different adventure altogether. It has been a busy summer this year and I have not gone camping yet. Now I am at the point where I can't even sleep comfortably in my own bed, so sleeping on the ground ON MY SIDE (the worst way to sleep on the ground) made me think for a minute... This is how we used to camp (in a 3-man backpacking tent with the 2 of us and the 2 dogs all cuddled up):

This year we borrowed a 5-man tent from Lisa and Drew and we are bringing an air mattress, real pillows, prenatal vitamins, orange juice and soda water ("pregnancy mimosas") and the address of the closest hospital. I think our days of simple camping are done. At least for many, many years. Kind of sad, but kind of fun to think that Baby Halo's next camping trip will be out of the belly!