29 weeks!

Here I am at 29 weeks! I can't believe how close it's getting! If I look hot in this picture, I am, because we took it yesterday when it was 103 outside! And probably a cool 95 inside, since we only have one fan. The outside temperature when we went to bed last night was 93 at 10pm! This is what global warming will do to Seattle. It cooled down to 99 today, and we're looking at even cooler temperatures tomorrow. Yay! I've been fairing pretty well with the heat. I've been going to the gym instead of walking outside, and I haven't gotten swollen yet.

I had my monthly doctor appointment today, and everything is going really well. I also signed us up for childbirth classes by Penny Simkin which start next Tuesday.

Nick is hoping to have the trim finished this weekend, so I'll post an update soon. He hasn't been able to work on it that much this week because of the heat. He also starts the 3am-11am shift again next week, but hopefully this time it will only last for two or three weeks. He's taking the day off work tomorrow to go out on a boat on Lake Washington with his coworkers to watch the blue angels and hydroplane races like he does every year during Seafair. If only I had more vacation days I could go too!

California Baby Shower

While we were down in the bay area last week, we had our baby shower. It was so nice to see our family and friends whom we do not see very often, and everyone got to see my growing belly too! It was a hot afternoon, perfect for an outdoor bbq. I am 28 weeks, 3 days in the photos.

Dessert

Nick wearing one of Binny's presents

This is a little toy I made for Evan when I was 5. Another Binny present!
Everyone packed into the living room to watch me open presents.
Family photo

28 week belly

Mommy & Daddy to be!

Stinson Beach

We spent the afternoon at Stinson Beach today with my mom and her aussies Sula and Kai. It was a gorgeous day and the dogs slept the entire way home. Here are a few pictures:

Family picture, Penny is busy watching the seagulls

I love the beach! I wish the state of Washington would let dogs on the beach!

Chuck-it thrower

After two hours, she still can't get enough of that ball!

Kai, Penny, and Sula

Running in a circle

27 Weeks!

So, this is a little bit late since I'm almost 28 weeks, but I figure better late than never! This week Nick has been able to feel the baby kick his stomach when he hugs me. He thinks it's pretty cool. He can also get the baby to kick his finger if he pokes my stomach. No new pregnancy symptoms to report, and no swelling yet, even with the heat!

Trim

This weekend's house project: trim, baseboards, and outlet covers. We spent a majority of our afternoon at a Beginning of Summer Bash that our neighborhood puts together every year. It was a lot of fun, and we met a few more of the nice people that live around here, including one lady in my prenatal yoga class. They closed the street about a block down from us in front of the park and had lots of activities, including live music, a potluck, and a bouncy gym for the kids. Oh, and it was in the mid 80's too! So, we got a late start on the house projects, but here's the progress so far:

Making cuts under as Penny supervises. If you look close enough, you'll notice that the swelling in her eye has gone down!

Measuring, although he had to redo this one since he was looking at me instead of the trim.

One of the finished windows

And some of the finished doors. They look so much better now!

Oakland

This is where I grew up :)



via julinabee

Poor Penny

We came home from work yesterday to find the left side of Penny's face swollen. Worried that it might be an abscessed tooth, I called the vet but the earliest they could fit her in was this evening. Oddly, the swelling went down by the time we went to bed, and was gone by morning. But when we got home today, the swelling was worse than yesterday, and it was now above her left eye as well. The vet said she probably got an infection from something (although she's not sure from what). She put Penny on an antibiotic and anti inflammatory for a few days to see if things clear up. She's acting pretty normal aside from her energy level being a bit lower. We hope she gets better soon!

26 Weeks!

I'm 26 weeks and 1 day today. This is officially the start of the third trimester! Yay! Only 3 months to go!

I had my glucose screening test on Monday to check for gestational diabetes. The orange drink was awful, and it gave the baby a sugar high because he was kicking furiously right after I drank it. The good news is that the results came back negative!

We've been having a hard time coming up with boy names. The only name nick has suggested so far is Frankenstein, which I vetoed for several reasons. At my office they have nicknamed him Wally. And this weekend, the family coffee crew came up with Grim, a combination of Gregg and Jim. Although it was popular among everyone else, I'm not sure I can give my son a name where his nickname will be "the Reaper". Nick and I have decided to offer to name our son after anyone willing to pay for his entire college tuition. If there is more than one bidder, we'll name him after the highest one. Any takers?

Beard

It's gone! Nick surprised me this weekend by shaving off his beard while I was running errands on Sunday. I actually didn't mind how the beard looked, but the hair was really bothersome to the part of my face that still hasn't completely regained it's feeling after my jaw surgery last year.

Before

After

Zombies!

We spent last night with thousands of zombies roaming the streets of Seattle. They were trying to, and broke the world record for a zombie flash mob. They estimate that about 6,000 showed up. You can read more about it here and here. Update: Here's a video that the Seattle Times had on their website: click here. Here are some photos I took:

Looking scary! Jim & Cynthia with their nieces Nora and Courtney.

Penny tries to save us from Dr. Zombie!

Cynthia feeding hearts to Dr. Zombie.

More zombies.
As you can see, there were lots of them!

Sleep

This is what happens when I get out of bed for just a minute! Neither one of them seem to notice or care that I've been booted from the bed! Maybe a king size bed is in our future, although probably not since I don't think it would fit in our bedroom.

25 Weeks!

I'm 25 weeks today! Only 1 week left in the 2nd trimester and then it's on to the third! I can't believe I only have about 15 weeks left! So much to be done. Nick did clear out the saws from what will be the baby's room (although his friends thought he should have left them since it is going to be a boy's room :) yeah right!). Tools, an air compressor, and hardwood flooring that needs to be installed remain, but we're making progress.

Nothing much has changed with me, except that my belly is starting to get in the way, especially when I have to fetch Penny's balls that have rolled under our kitchen cabinets (which don't have toe kicks yet). Sitting for long periods of time is increasingly uncomfortable so I've been trying to stand up a lot at work. I can't say I'm looking forward to the car ride down to CA later this month. I have a feeling we'll be taking more frequent stops than usual.

I have my glucose screening test coming up on Monday. And Nick was able to hear the baby's heart beat tonight by putting his ear on my belly!

Shower

We finally decided to give Penny a bath tonight. It had been a few months since she last had one, but amazingly, she didn't look all that dirty. Brushing her definitely helps, plus the fact that dirt just falls off of her fur is nice too. She hates baths, and this was her first one in an actual bathtub since we had just a walk in shower at our old place. So I first taught her to get in the tub on her own (using the old cue "shower") so we wouldn't have to put her in there.



I was feeding her really yummy fish treats, but she still wasn't enjoying herself. She only perked up once I started dancing :) Nick got in the shower too, since it was easier to wash her that way.

When she gets out, she shakes a lot! Look at this funny picture of her drying off.

And finally, she's hoping she's dry enough to leave the bathroom, so she can run crazily around our house to finish drying off.

They're off!!

After a looong 18 months, I finally got my braces off yesterday! I'm so excited not to have them on anymore. Today I picked up my retainer, and tomorrow I have a dentist appointment to make sure they're extra sparkly :)

Family Photo

Some of Penny's family showed up at the agility trial last night. From left to right, we have sister Cricket, brother Rio (who we hadn't met before, he came all the way from Oregon), Penny, and mother Dot laying down. Penny loves to see her family!

Father to Be

Nick received his first Father's Day card. Thank you Binny & Grampy! You can tell it's from Binny because there is writing on the front of the card. I don't think I've ever received a card from her without writing on the front :)

You can also see in the background some of the boxes from the move. We still have a lot of work to do, but the house is in much better order than it was last week. We can actually find most things now, and all major appliances are in working order.

23 Weeks!

Here I am at 23 weeks, 5 days. Nothing new to report on, except that my belly is growing! My back has been bothering me, especially after moving last week, so I've been sitting on an exercise ball at work. I thought it would be annoying to sit on all day, but I love it! Not only does my lower back no longer hurt, but I also find myself sitting up much straighter during the day.

Mega Dogs Touch N Go Novice Round 1

Here's a clip for Penny's first agility trial. The course was Touch N Go, which is contact obstacles (dog walk and A-frame), tunnels, and hoops. She did really well for her first time! We got faulted near the end because she jumped off the dog walk early and her feet didn't touch the yellow area. We had lots of fun! Our second run wasn't until 9:30pm, so it was too dark to get on video.

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Kitchen!

Here are some recent pictures of our nearly done kitchen! The cupboards and drawers are still mostly empty because I have to finish making the drawers/shelves that go inside. Thank you Dad (and everyone else) for helping us! All of our appliances are working, including our gas stove.

We probably won't make much progress on the house this week, because we have a lot of unpacking to do, but it is soo nice to finally have our own place.

22 Weeks!

I'm 22 weeks and 1 day today, and baby weighs about a pound now! If I went into labor now, there's actually a chance the baby could survive with good neonatal care. Amazing! Although I really hope he stays in for a few more months.
Not much is new this week, except that we figured out what the thumping we were feeling inside my stomach is. It feels like a strong heartbeat, thump, thump, thump, but we knew the baby's couldn't be that strong. Turns out it's Hiccups! So cute :)

Floors & Kitchen

Here is a long overdue house update. We've been busy this week with the floors and kitchen, and we're moving this weekend! My dad and Jim have been at the house every day this week, working hard. Thank you! And of course, Nick has been there too. We're excited because tomorrow is his last day on the 3am-11am shift. It's not fun to have to go to bed at 6 every night when the sun doesn't begin to set until after 9. We've had gorgeous weather for several weeks :)
Here are the hardwood floors in the hallway. They're so pretty! And slippery. Penny has been sliding everywhere, so we don't think she likes them very much.
Here Nick and Jim are working hard on the kitchen floors. Jim is trying to find just the right pieces, so he doesn't have more than 5% scrap.
Kitchen installation. This was taken a few days ago, so the kitchen is actually much farther along. It should be mostly done by tomorrow. We're even getting our gas turned on.

Interior Paint

Here is the color we chose for most of our interior walls on the main floor. It's called Martha Steward 242. It's a pretty pale green, that makes the house look so nice :) At some point we will add some accent colors, but this it for now.

Tall Grass

Here's a picture of Penny I took today in our backyard. She's popping her head up to check on us since she's been busily chewing on a bone. Look how tall the grass has grown! I'd say it's about 3 feet. Time for us to get a lawn mower.

21 weeks!

I'm 21 weeks and 1 day today. I had my monthly doctor appointment, and everything is just fine :) Before I left, she gave me a bottle of this orange stuff which I'm supposed to drink one hour before my next appointment for the glucose screening test. It contains 50 grams of sugar and a bunch of food coloring and additives! Yum! She said it tastes better cold. I'll try to remember that.

"Dark"

Here is a video I made a few nights of Penny doing something she does every night before we go to bed. I taught her to turn off the light ("Dark") because Nick and I could never decide who's turn it was to get up and turn off the light when we got in bed. This solved the problem! And she loves doing it!

Brother

My favorite brother, Evan, came to help with the painting for a few days. It was so nice to have him, until he decided that cycling was more important than working on the house :) He and Nick (and Jim) got most of the main floor painted while he was here, and it looks great! I will add new pictures soon. We're hoping he will come back again and help us later this summer.