Thursdays

My sister in law calls Thursdays my anniversary day. Every Thursday I add another week to my "cooking;" getting closer and closer to 40 weeks. But at week 30 I started counting down instead of up; 10 weeks to go, 9 weeks to go . . . Today I hit 35 weeks; 5 weeks to go. And while it is exciting, I panicked a little. It seems that there is so little time left. It doesn't help that I seem to hear story after story of friends that had their babies early. Today I started worrying about not being ready. I have two weeks (I hope) of work left. I really want some time off before Baby comes so that I can feel a little more settled. My nursery isn't done. I want to do some grocery shopping and even make and freeze some meals. I want to clean my bath tubs and wash some of the baby stuff. All things I am too tired (or too swollen) to do after work.

Yesterday a friend of ours had their baby. Today, a friend of my sisters had her baby. As I thought about the two girls I had a whole flood of emotions. Fear of the unknown. Excitement for the future. Unsure about birth plans. Scared. Nervous. Love. An all around wreck. I feel like I've been on the verge of tears all day. I know women do this all the time. What I am experiencing is nothing new. But it is new to me. I love this baby so much and it's a new love I have never experienced. But all of this has me trusting God even more. Through all of this, it has always been His timing, not my own. I trust that no matter what happens next, He is control. He loves His children including Kevin, me, and Baby.

Watermelon

So a few weeks ago (July 9th actually) I got a watermelon for a semi-BBQ. For those of you who don't know, a semi-BBQ is when you eat BBQ type food without actually turning on the grill. We had pulled pork sandwiches smothered in sauce, corn on the cob, and . . . watermelon. I guess it could be considered a picnic but semi-BBQ seemed appropriate. But we didn't finish, or hardly make a dent in the watermelon. So I took it home . . . and ate it.

The following week we headed to Santa Barbara for the weekend with my family and I brought another watermelon along. We had it with hot dogs and potato salad; a classic summer meal. I ate more than my fair share, and took the other half home. I cut up the other half on Monday at lunch. By Tuesday night it was gone. Kevin didn't have a single piece.

Today, I ran in the store at lunch for dog food . . . and another watermelon. This time I didn't bother with the tiny volleyball size, I grabbed the over inflated beach ball. A pretty one with a big yellow spot on it so I knew it had ripened on the vine. I understand the hilarity of the pregnant woman holding a watermelon as big as she is. I was so excited with my purchase I let the checkers comment about how big I was just bounce right off. Jonathan, my bag boy, helped me take it out to my car; I was walking so fast, anxious to get home, that he had trouble keeping up. Unfortunately, I had to pull over just outside my community because the watermelon had gotten loose and was rolling around in the van. I was not about to let my prize split in two and spill its precious juice on the floor of my car. I got home, gave the boys some food, the main reason for the stop at the store, and cut that sucker in half.

I threw some in a bowl and headed back to work.

The melon was so good and sweet and amazing. I would trade my Thrifty's ice cream cone any day for this treat. Even now, I sit thinking about what is waiting for me in the refrigerator. My craving for Cheetos in the second trimester was nothing compared to this. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Gender Neutral

Kevin and I have decided to wait until delivery to find out Baby’s gender. I don’t have a problem when others find out early with an ultra-sound; it was simply a decision for us. I threw out the idea and Kevin jumped on board.

There were many factors to our decision. It started when we didn’t get pregnant in our timing; God had other plans. We made the decision that if pregnancy wasn’t going to be a big surprise due to working with doctors and such, we wanted something to be a surprise, and Baby’s gender sounded like a good idea. We knew that God was in control and we would take whatever came our way (not that you actually get to choose a boy or girl.) When we (surprise) got pregnant on our own, we stuck with the idea of waiting to find out.

Another giant factor was my frugality. We really don’t plan for this to be our only child. We don’t know what that looks like for the future, but we thought we would set the foundation for other little ones that will come our way. So we got everything gender neutral; crib bedding, strollers, car seats, blankets, gowns, and everything in between. I know some things will need to be replaced, but I couldn’t see purchasing new items for a second child simply because the gender was different than number one. Nor could I see myself asking family or friends to buy new ones when the original was in such good condition. (Thanks friends for your generous gifts. As a side note, we have been very blessed to receive used items from family and friends and are just as excited, if not more so, with used items as new items.) The economy isn’t changing very fast, and we don’t know what the future holds for our income for next year, or subsequent years, so we thought it the responsible thing to do. We probably would have gone neutral even if we had found out the sex, but it was easier to not be swayed toward pink or blue this way. When things are questionable (usually because it would be too feminine) I ask Kevin, “Would you let your son wear/use this?”

However, I have found myself very sensitive to certain responses when people find out we are waiting. My mom teases me and calls me mean because I am preventing her from buying little outfits just yet. That one doesn’t bother me. In fact, I think my father is grateful that I have found a way to curb my mother’s spending, even if temporarily.

But if I hear another person say "I just couldn't do it, I'm too much of a planner," I might scream. (Get ready for the rant.) It’s not so much the “I couldn’t do it,” we all know you could if you wanted to. It’s more of the indication that I am not a planner. You think I'm not planning? Have you met me? You think I am not crazy about preparing for a neutral nursery and snatch up all the neutral clothes I can find? You think I haven't lined up people to let me borrow clothes depending on the gender? Just because my entire nursery isn’t pink doesn’t mean I’m not a planner. I’ve planned to share baby stuff with anyone who wants to. I’m all about thrift stores, garage sales, and friends that are done having kids. There is nothing wrong with finding out the gender, just don't think I'm not a planner! I know it isn’t what people really mean, and pregnant women are overly sensitive, but I don’t think people sometimes think about what they are going to say. I received a wonderful response from a friend today. She said “I think it would be so hard to wait, but it sure makes labor day exciting.” How sweet, thank you friend.

I know all (at least most) women are excited for delivery, but I feel that we have been able to add something special to ours. I look forward to the day when Kevin gets to exclaim “It’s a . . .”

Alaska

Kevin and I took an extended weekend trip up to Alaska for Father's Day. Kevin's maternal family lives up in Anchorage and I had never met them. One day we'll go back up for a site-seeing trip (hopefully a cruise), but for now, this was just a trip to visit people.

Here is where we spent most of our time. Kevin and I were on the couch and Grandma and Papa were in their chairs. Sometimes there was a ball game on, but we mostly just sat and talked. Grandma reminds me a lot of Kevin's mom; she just wants to ask questions about who you are and what you were about. It was very relaxing. No agenda.

Downstairs where we slept, the walls were covered in old photographs (and genealogy charts). Here is Kevin and his two sisters. Isn't he a cutie? Who wouldn't want a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes that looks just like that?

Kevin got Papa talking about their genealogy hobby, and he was so excited to show Kevin his software and all he had discovered. I took pictures with my phone from the corner; I don't think Papa had any idea what I was doing.

Kevin's uncle took us for a drive to see the water and the mountains. While is was in the low 90's in Riverside, it was a beautiful 62 degrees in Anchorage. Here I am at 30 weeks, even if I am hiding the belly a little.

More of the view from the drive.

We went down to see the glacier . . . but it isn't there anymore. Kevin saw it as a kid, but over time, it has moved back into the valley. Here are some chunks or ice that have broken off the glacier and floated down toward the visitor center. We sat through video about glaciers and at the end they pull back the curtains to show you the glacier . . . but it's gone. It was a beautiful area, though.

I made Kevin take this picture with Smokey. Poor guy always has to take random pictures.

I couldn't find a way to prove that it was still light outside in the middle of the night. The clock is showing 10:35 pm and it is as bright as it was at 4:00. We were there for summer solstice where the longest day is about 21 hours of day light. I brought along my little eye mask and slept fine.

A plane taking off from the water. In the winter, they switch to skis for the plane.

Kevin and I took a walk around the neighborhood one afternoon and came across this small female moose. She looked big enough that I wasn't going any closer, but she was small for a moose. Grandma and Papa have had multiple moose in their backyard next to the little creek that runs through it. The just step right over the four and a half foot gate.

She started to follow us down the path as we were leaving trying not to disturb her, but she got distracted and went to peek in the apartment window.

Overall we had a wonderfully relaxing time and got to see a moose!

Shower #1

Bethany threw Baby and me a beautiful brunch last month. She made blueberry french toast, mini egg souffles, and an elaborate fruit spread. Friends and their little ones came out to help me prepare for our little addition. There were 6 little ones in all! Our friends were so generous with their gifts and we are so blessed by them. We received many books to start our family library of children's books. My family always read books growing up, and I am excited to read to our little one.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Sorry they are all of me; I didn't take any pictures of my own.

Toni holding Riley and part of the beautiful food table.

I am reading a book from Katie to the girls.