23 Weeks

A few people have asked to see belly photos. I've taken them periodically for the baby book and to watch how I've grown. Here I am at 23 weeks -- officially in my 6th month.

Paint-O-Rama

Yesterday Mom arrived to help me paint the baby's room. Earlier this month I chose the color green I wanted for two walls of the room and she brought the paint and the supplies so we could get started. We painted the first and second coats yesterday and then finished the detail painting this morning. The details included a few lighter spots on the walls and the areas around the ceiling and doorway.

It took some work but we got it done and love how it turned out. The avocado green walls with the dark espresso wood crib work well together.

Productive Baby Planning Day

A couple weeks ago my mom came up to help me look at baby cribs. By the end of that day we were more confused and overwhelmed than we were when we started. It's hard finding a crib when there are so many to choose from out there. I was looking for a crib with a particular style, in dark wood, quality craftsmanship, coordinating dresser--and one that didn't cost a million dollars. Since it had been a couple weeks since our first shopping trip my mom and I were ready to try again. She came up this morning and we were successful! We picked out a crib and matching dresser, brought the crib home and set it up. The dresser is on order and should arrive in the next 12 weeks. I can't wait until it gets here! We also picked out a paint color for the baby's bedroom. We chose a sage green and I think it's going to look great. Here are a couple photos of me with the crib we picked out.

Baby Shower

Last week Chad and I traveled to San Diego to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Walter. The family gave Walter a nice service to remember his life. A few members of the U.S. Navy were there to honor his wife by giving her a folded U.S. flag that was laid over his coffin earlier in the service.

On Saturday morning Chad's sisters threw us a baby shower. Because it is the rare occasion that we're all together as a family they decided this weekend was a fine time to do it. We ate individual omelets and fruit for breakfast before playing shower games and opening gifts. I got some really neat homemade gifts for the baby including a hooded towel, a nursing cover, a monkey blanket and a fitted sheet for the crib. We received other cute gifts too. Chad and I are thankful for the shower, the gifts, and time we all got to spend together this past week.

Here's a photo of us playing a multitasking game. We had to hang baby clothes on a clothesline while talking on the phone and holding a Cabbage Patch doll. The entire group was divided into two teams and it was a relay race. The other photo is of me trying on the nursing cover.

Amgen Tour of California

This afternoon I was lucky enough to watch a portion of the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race. It's a multi-day multi-city race and today's leg of it ended in Clovis. In fact, a portion of it took place about a half a mile from home so my friends and neighbors Jim and Kellie walked over to watch it with me. We waited about an hour for the cyclists to arrive and then once they did...they were gone in about 4 seconds.

Overall it was a fun event and I'm glad we went.

Here is the best photo I got from the race. Not great, but like I said, the best I got. When Kellie and Jim get their photos online I'll link to them here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our day started out pretty well. We woke up early, went to H&R Block to get our taxes done (we got refunds!) and decided to celebrate by going to lunch and by doing a little crib shopping. Fun! Well, fun until we got rear-ended. We were in an accident today in my Honda. We're all fine and no one was hurt, but the back of my car is pretty darn smashed in. And I worked so hard to keep it clean and looking new! Such a bummer. Now the fun of getting it repaired begins...

Sweet and Tender Hooligans

Way back in 2000 or 2001 Chad and I went to see The Smiths cover band at Cane's in San Diego called the Sweet and Tender Hooligans. For some reason we had to leave the place early (I think Chad was working the over night shift at that point) so we only got to hear about 1/3 of the show. I didn't want to leave but knew we had to because Chad needed at least a few hours of sleep. He promised that if they played again and we were around we'd go and stay for the whole show. Of course, while I was living there they never came back, and every time they played in the Los Angeles area I was either busy or out of town. So...about a month ago I saw a flyer online for the band--they were coming to Fresno! I held Chad to his promise and made him take me to the show this past Saturday. We invited our friend Garin and we were all excited to see them perform. The band was awesome--even better than I remembered them from nearly 10 years ago. They played almost all of our favorite Smiths and Morrissey songs and did it with enthusiasm and skill. We stayed until the end and afterwards met some of the band members. They were nothing short of gracious and even seemed happy to meet us. After the show we were all super pumped. I can't wait for them to come back so we can see them again. Up top is a photo of Chad and me with the singer Jose Maldonado, aka the "Mexican Morrissey". (Ignore my freaky eyes--the flash was bright--yikes!) Chad and Garin are the clowns in this photo below.

Movie Screen

Using money we got for Christmas Chad and I ordered a new TV for our living room and it finally arrived last night. When he brought it into the house I about fell over because it looked so big compared to the modest TV we had in there before. Our new set is large, but it really isn't that big after you look at it for a couple minutes. This morning I realized I'm used to it and already forgot how the other TV looked in here.

Sierra Summit Friends

On Saturday we made a spontaneous day-trip up to our local ski resort to meet up with friends from the Bay Area. Everyone (but me--although I did see a very pregnant woman snowboarding--yikes!) either snowboarded or went skiing for the afternoon and had a great time. The sun was out and the weather was beautiful so it was a perfect day in the mountains. Here they all are before heading up the lift.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's big birthday and we spent last night at the cabin to help her celebrate it. We went for a walk, had pizza for dinner, played Scrabble and watched the Food Network and American Idol. It was a relaxing but fun day in the mountains. I made my mom this quilt for her birthday. In this photo she's got it folded in half so it's really twice as big as it shows, but you get the idea. It fits right in with the cabin decor so I hope it'll get a lot of use! Happy Birthday, Mom!