Nursery/Baby in Progress

Here are some updated pictures of the nursery. It's really coming together with the bedding and draperies. We have some decals to put up still, but I haven't quite figured out the design of them. It's so fun to think Cash will be in here in the very near future!



I'm 35 weeks this week and that means I'm nearly in my ninth month. Although I have started to get uncomfortable (as I type, I keep getting distracted by the sausage-like limbs that used to be my fingers), overall I'm still able to carry on most activities as normal. I was laughing the other day as I was on my hands and knees, scrubbing the bottom of the shower - this is not the picture I had of myself at eight-and-a-half months pregnant, but I am grateful that the pregnancy has been so blessed this far. I will say, however, that I could do without the severe heartburn that wakes me from a dead sleep feeling like my chest might rip open. Yeah, that part's not so fun.

Mick has been keeping busy working on building a shelving unit in the alcove in the living room. It's really coming along and it will be so nice to have it done before Cash comes. He's been missing the hands-on aspect of the work he did in California, so this has been a good outlet. The poor guy is getting less sleep than I am. He keeps claiming that I've developed a snoring habit, but I think he must be mistaken. I blame it on Bella. That's what dogs are for.

California Baby Shower

I spent this past weekend back in California for my first baby shower. It was so beautiful and so much fun! A huge thanks to everyone involved, especially Kim and Ashley, who managed to put it all together with a 4-week-old baby and the fun of being 4-months pregnant respectively. And I thought I was tired!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! We had quite the plan to enjoy our holiday by our brand new community pool, but a huge rain storm had other ideas for us. Instead, we had a low-key afternoon and then went to a yummy cook-out at my sister's in-laws house. Thankfully the rain stopped in time to have a really enjoyable evening. After dinner, we headed home to roast s'mores and watch fireworks, which we could see clearly from our front yard. We set off a few fireworks of our own, but were totally put to shame by the ones our neighbors had. Fun this year, but I'm not sure how much we'll appreciate the close-proximity booms with a sleeping baby at home in '09!

Cocoa Beach

Mick had a work trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier this week and I was lucky enough to get to tag along thanks to some free Southwest Airline tickets that Reagan and Oscar gave us. It was a nice get away and likely the last one we'll have before Cash makes his debut.

On Monday, Mick went onto NASA to work, but he also received an up-close-and-personal-tour of the grounds. He got to see all sorts of things that are usually reserved for NASA personnel and astronauts, including standing directly underneath the launch pad. Apparently the grounds have a lot of preserved space on it, so he also got to see lots of alligators enjoying the land. The picture above is not one he took, but at the same location that he saw them.

I mostly hung out at the pool and walked along the beach picking up seashells. I tried to enjoy every moment free of parental responsibilty. There aren't a lot of them left.

San Antonio

Mick and I headed out to San Antonio this last weekend to visit our friends who recently moved there from California and to have a get-away before Cash gets here. What a treat to get to visit with Tania, Tobias and Elliot here in Texas! We are no longer the lone California rangers in the Lone-Star State.

We spent most of Saturday walking around the Riverwalk and visiting the Alamo. Although it was quite warm, we broke up the day by heading into the A/C whenever possible and resting at the hotel when needed. It was so handy to be staying in a hotel with direct access to the Riverwalk, especially with a pregnant lady and 5-month old in tow.

Father's Day

Here are some pictures from Father's Day. We had a pretty mellow day; we went swimming, fiddled around the house, and bar-b-qued in the evening. I think Mick really enjoyed being able to choose what we did without any complaining (or, as I call it, "discussion") from me. His favorite phrase for the day was, "I reserve the right to change my mind because it's Father's Day." Although it's been fun for both of us to celebrate these holidays, we're well aware that this is the freebee year. Next year, we will have truly earned the titles...and we can't wait!



Also, Mick has been busily "hurricane-proofing" our house. The builder provided us with hurricane shutters, but we are responsible for drilling the pins into the exterior of the home so that the shutters can be afixed to the windows. We had been quoted anywhere between $750 and $1000 for someone else to do the job, but capable as he is, my husband decided he would take on the task. Plus he got to buy new tools. What is better than that? Since we have somewhere around 31 windows/doors that need to be covered, with many of them requiring over 12 pins each, this is quite the project. He has pretty much finished the downstairs, which thankfully holds the majority of windows. Hopefully, the storms will hold off until it's all finished!

Uhhhhh.......just kidding

So I am forced to amend my last blog post. We had our second childbirth class last night. Remember the part I wrote about the childbirth video making me "more excited and less anxious" about the process? That was because 95% of that video was animated. They pulled out all the stops last night with not one, but three (!), real-life video births and, let me tell you, I was more than a little horrified. So much for that "knowledge replaces fear" idea.