Little did we know...

 that five days after taking this picture...

 we would have our little peanut.

The past two weeks have been filled with unexpected surprises (namely, the birth of our daughter five weeks early and her subsequent week-long stay at the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital). Thankfully, our little sweet is doing much better and is officially the cutest little girl that we've ever laid eyes on. (Biases aside, she is pretty darn adorable, just ask any of the nurses at the hospital.)

We are so excited to be her parents and appreciate all of the love and support that we've received these last two weeks. 

Life's a beach

A few weeks ago, we made our annual sojourn down to Newport Beach. And it was delightful. (Well, except for that whole driving down and back part... next year we're flying for REALS.) A side note: the In-N-Out in Barstow is ginormous and is always packed. It makes for excellent people watching, to be sure.

Highlights of the trip included the clairvoyant Asian lady who sold us ice cream (who not only correctly stated that I am having a girl, but also correctly stated how far along I was at the time... amazeballs), a stop at TK Burgers, the husb helping my poor unfortunate-looking footsies by painting my toenails, enjoying some amazing Vegan fare, the beach house owner's penchant for Danielle Steel novels (see pictorial evidence below) and, of course, the beach. (Though I would have preferred it being a beach that was not filled with perfectly tanned and thoroughly skinny 16 year old girls... but maybe that's because this year I was channeling the whole "beached whale" vibe.)

Until next year, dear Newport. 

What typically happens when someone tries to take my picture (especially these days)...

Lovely, isn't it?

I should be a part-time model or something. 

25

Last week marked my 25th week of pregnancy. As you can see from the photo above, my belly is burgeoning.

Thus far this whole journey has been interesting. My nesting instinct has kicked in with a fury I never expected. My emotions run the gamut from really excited to really scared. And I find myself wearing flats at least twice a week (oh the horror... kidding, only kidding).

I also think this process has been most fascinating. It's interesting to observe how different people behave toward me (aka, "feel up my belly"), and what questions they ask.

[A brief note to those who care, asking questions like "Was this planned?" "Are you planning on coming back to work?" and/or commenting that I look "so much bigger than fill-in-the-blank did at this stage" are kind of really awkward, in my humble opinion. I think it's important to realize that while you might be more than willing to share this information, there are those who are not as apt to share such intimate details. And also, my doc wants me to gain around 40 (!) pounds, so lay off ok? ;)]

We've slowly, but surely, procured items for the baby, and it's exciting to see everything coming together. And maybe my husb bought the most beautiful little dress for our little girl and presented it to me on Mother's Day. (Melt my heart, why don't you. Seriously.) 

In all, it's been a pretty transformative 25 weeks, in more ways than one. Here's to 15 (well, 14 now) more weeks.

The Arcade Fire, and how pregnancy saved my pop tarts

Monday night we saw The Arcade Fire in concert down at UVU. Said concert was, in and of itself, amazeballs, but so was the incident that transpired just prior to my entry into the UCCU Center. (Or whatever the McKay Events Center is called these days.)

As my purse was being searched, the officer rifling through my bag said that all the contents therein were acceptable, save my precious pack of organic blueberry pop tarts. I gingerly tossed the beloved package into the nearest trash, saying something about how they help the pregnant belly. (Because sometimes I fall prey to incoherent babbling when I don't have anything else to say.) The officer looked at me, as is to confirm that I was actually pregnant, hesitated, then said, "Well actually... do you want them back?" Boy did I! So he fished them out for me with a smile and told me to enjoy the concert. (And yes, I did sanitize the entire package with hand sanitizer once we were in our seats.)

Later on, when my nausea kicked in, the pop tarts saved my tummy, allowing me to fully savor the brilliance that is The Arcade Fire. So I thank the kind officer who allowed me to keep my pop tarts and enjoy the show.

The verdict is in...

and it looks like it's a GIRL!!

Another thoroughly legitimate reason regarding why I haven't been blogging much lately

Besides the 50 hour weeks I've been pulling... the 5K I've volunteered to do PR for... and the book I'm in the process of getting started... I've been a little bit occupied with something else...

Me at 15 weeks

incubating my own little fetus.

The husb and I are really quite excited for this next phase in our lives. It's a bit surreal and a bit intimidating, but nonetheless really fantastic.

We find out the gender next week, so stay tuned. (And, just for kicks and giggles, I've added a little poll to the blog so that you can cast your vote as to what you think the gender of our little fetus is. We have no idea.)