Yowza!

Check out the "Mommy View":


No wonder . . .
(1) people who haven't seen me in a long time give me an uncontrollable, wide-eyed, shocked stare.
(2) I drop a lot more when eating--I have to sit like a foot farther back now! Good thing the belly catches everything I drop. :-)

Maternity Pics

I know, I know, it's been a while since y'all have gotten an update! Things have been wonderful and BUSY here--Alex has been working on getting his latest project wrapped up and traveling on his last business trip before Ali gets here, and my work has been C-R-A-Z-Y busy. It seems like every spare second in the evenings is spent doing laundry, getting the nursery ready (we're like 97% done!!), going to childbirth classes, and trying to keep up with all the other, non-baby-related chores that everyday life brings. Whew! Thank God for our DVR . . . we have time to watch TV for about one hour, twice a week. We have to think carefully about what shows we're actually going to stay current on!

I had my last bi-weekly appointment this week, and it was great! Ali is head down (stay that way, baby girl!) and has slowed her overly enthusiastic growth down . . . she's now measuring in the very manageable 65% (rather than the 90%) and is on track to be a healthy 8 lb. baby. Perfect!! Her legs are still measuring ahead . . . I'm wondering if we're going to have a long-legged lady on our hands! I get next week off from doc appointments, and then the following week I start my weekly appointments where we will start looking for and tracking any progress toward labor and, ultimately, a baby!! I can't believe I only have 5(ish) weeks left!

We've had two wonderful showers already, one in Dallas with my mom and Alex's mom's friends, and one here at my work. Everyone has been so incredibly thoughtful and generous--Ali is one LOVED baby already. I've got my friends shower this weekend and can't wait to see everyone . . . I feel like we have really fallen out of the loop in the last couple of months, and I'm sure that will only continue to be the case once we have a newborn. Then next weekend my family is coming together for one last shower at our house. I feel so incredibly blessed to have so many people excited and wanting to celebrate little Alina!

Now for some fun pictures. I have been so fortunate this pregnancy to have not only one, but TWO outstanding photographers take maternity pictures of me--one as a trade for services, and one to simply get more experience and build her portfolio out. Their styles are as different as they are innovative and breathtaking--how wonderful that I have pictures in both styles with which I can document this amazing and brief time of my life!

From Kristen Joy Photography:

This one is half Dad, half Mom . . . and all love!

And from Azini Photography (*note: you can check out the rest of the sneak peeks (haven't gotten ALL the pictures yet...) AND some pictures of our nursery (gasp!) if you follow the link . . . but be aware that they are ALL bare belly pics!):

So, that's what's been going on with us! Working busily in the final weeks to tie up all the loose ends and get ourselves ready for the most amazing new addition ever. I hope all is well with everyone, and we will DEFINITELY keep you all updated as things start to *happen*!

Alina in 3D

Last weekend Alex and I got to bring our parents, my grandparents, and my sister along with us to a 3D/4D ultrasound! We wanted to be able to share the excitement of seeing Alina, and while Alex and I are used to seeing her in 2D, being able to see her in all her adorable round cuteness was a new level of love. True to form, she was being extremely camera shy. She was using any body part she could to hide her face from us--arms, legs, feet, whatever! The ultrasound tech told us we have a "real snuggler" on our hands. I can't wait for her to get here so that she can bury her face in MY neck and shoulder and arms.

The other amazing revelation of the day was . . . hair!! That's right, Ali has hair. Quite a bit in fact. Enough to stick off her head in little tufts. It just blows my mind. There is HAIR in my abdomen. Hair. Wow!!!

Enjoy the pics!

Here I am with my foot up over my head. What can I say? I'm running out of room in here!

Check out my big toe! It's the only part I can really stretch out anymore . . .

Here's my arm. Don't you just love my cute little chubby wrist?

I like to explore my little world with my hands. Hmm . . . what is that? Oh! Another hand!

Check out my guns! I'm going to grow up big and strong, just like my mom!

Ok, I'm done with the photo shoot. Time to hide my face behind my arms AND legs!

Truckin' Along

To answer the question that seems to be on everyone's lips lately, yes, I'm feeling fine and the heat isn't bothering me too much at all! With temps consistently over 100 degrees, it's good that (a) I'm a Texas girl and actually like the hot weather (gasp!) and (b) I work inside.

Not a lot going on in baby news to update on--nursery is coming together, slowly but surely. Alex and I start our birthing class next Tuesday. We went on a tour of the new labor and delivery wing of the hospital I'll be delivering at, which definitely made everything seem a lot more real. At our last monthly appointment (they'll be about every 2 weeks for the next three, and then every week 'til the end!), Ali was still measuring big--about one week ahead in all measurements!

In non-baby updates, there are quite a few tasks that need to be crossed off the list. They didn't all happen this month, but I thought I'd give you a brief recap of them anyway.

#3: get published as an editor or writer--I've been doing a steady amount of freelance work for a small local company for almost a year now, and actually have my name on the inside cover as the editor. Neat!

#8: motivate husband to create his own version of goal list and time frame--we had a great discussion in Hawaii, and though Alex will never create 101 goals, nor write them down, he was able to articulate his own version of this list and list time frames within which to complete the tasks. Yay for goals!

#18: avoid getting sunburned--this will be an ongoing task for the rest of my life, but I'm proud to say I spent a week in Hawaii without getting burned! Even though the summer is only halfway over, I'm not anticipating another week in the sun (see above reference about working indoors), so I'm going to go ahead and cross this one off.

#19: go to the dentist consistently--after my second 6-month dental check-up, I feel confident in saying that I have found a dentist I love and have gotten back into the 6-month dental visit routine.

#24: no fried food for a month--at the beginning of June, I just decided that it might be a good month for a health challenge, so I gave up all fried food. It wasn't actually all that hard! Good thing I picked a month with only 30 days. :-)

#26: take a mental health day--it hasn't happened yet, but I have decided to take every Monday in August off! This is huge for me, and I am really struggling with feelings of guilt. I keep thinking to myself, I don't really need that time off, that's just being lazy, etc. Then Alex reminded me that not only will I probably be fairly uncomfortable by then, it may very well be the last time for like 25 years I have some "me" time. That helped me feel a lot better about taking those days off!

#34: get a water softener--yay! That was our last item on our original "things to get for the house" list!

#37: have the neighbors over for dinner--we finally had our neighbors over for dinner. Too bad it was only five days before they move back to the Fort Worth area. :-(

#59: tell my family I love them whenever we hang up--I am so proud to say that I have gotten very good about this one! My dad and brother were the hardest to do this with, and maybe it's being pregnant, but I suddenly just don't care as much . . . life is too short not to tell your loved ones that they are loved.

#77: clean out house and donate at least twice a year to Goodwill (5 times total)--PROGRESS. We've not donated 3 loads, and I know after I have the baby I will donate a bunch of pre-pregnancy clothes that simply won't work any more. Almost there!

#86: sew something--ok, so the spirit of this one was to create something crafty with my hands. I didn't sew something per se . . . I knitted something. That's right. Apparently, when I'm pregnant, I knit. I made a little baby hat and am working on a matching body suit. I can't wait to put them on Ali!

Whew! As you can see, lots of progress made! Hope all is well with everyone, and that you are all finding ways to survive the summer heat.

With love,
K.

Month in Review

What happened to May?!?! Time is definitely speeding up, as everyone warned me it would. We had a wonderful month and got a couple of big things checked off our list!

Babymoon: Check!
It was the perfect trip for a babymoon--relaxing, fun, and nothing to do but enjoy our time together as a couple. I also managed to get quite a few things checked off my 101 list while there, including:

• #49--go spelunking (hiking through a lava tube with nothing but a flashlight definitely counts!)
• #71--take a Mensa test just for the hell of it (ok, so it was the Mensa quiz in the back of the American Way magazine . . . I did get 5 out of 7 right . . . and 1 of those I didn't attempt because I was too impatient . . . and I don't forsee myself caring enough about this one to actually order a REAL Mensa test . . . so I'm counting this one done!
• #97--go skinny dipping in a river/lake/ocean (technically we still had on our snorkeling gear. lol)

I also re-tackled #94--eat something you've never tried before. I did it in China last year, but I was proud of myself for trying traditional Poi, or the smashed-up taro plant common on the islands. It was purple and tasted a bit like refried beans.

Here are some photo highlights of the trip. If you want to see more, including pics of Alex underwater, Alex making friends with Hawaiian horses, and a really cool black sand beach, click here.

Our first Hawaiian sunset

The courtyard of the hotel we stayed at

If you get to a smaller, less-well-known beach early enough, you have the place to yourself!

Kelly and the Tiki

Next to the first waterfall we hiked up to during the drive to Hana

Alex practicing being a stalagmite in the lava tube

Alex and a friend through the glass bottom panel of the boat we took out to Molokini

Here we are at the top of the volcano Haleakala (which means "House of the Sun")

Check out the amazing purple tree!

Sunset at the luau

Our parting shot: Goodbye Hawaii!

Remember, if you want to see more pics, click here!

#65: Buy a Car--check!
That's right folks! After 8 years of my sporty little coupe, it was time to graduate to a bigger, safer, more spacious "mom-mobile." We've been keeping our eye open for a couple of months for a good deal, and this Saturday we found one we just couldn't pass up! Introducing my mom-mobile!
It's a new-to-us Volvo XC90. I gotta tell you, this new car thing is niiiice! Here's the interior:
Pretty, huh? I love love love it!

Alina's 24-week check-up
We had Ali's 24-week doctor's appointment, which included a 45-minute ultrasound that measured every tiny part of her! We got to look at her kidneys, diaphragm, stomach, bladder, brain, heart, fingers, toes, lips and nose (to check for cleft pallet), femur bones, and her umbilical cord (they even switched on a heat sensor so that we could see the blood flowing in and out of her--cool!). She is "perfect" in all her measurements, so we are breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to a healthy, beautiful baby girl in September!

She is still measuring big, about a full week ahead and in the 91%. Her legs are measuring almost 2 weeks ahead! Sheesh, girl, where did you get those long legs from???

She was not in the most cooperative position or mood, and when the time came for the big finale, in which they flipped on the 3D/4D view for a few fun pictures, she was tired of the paparazzi camera thing and had decided NO MORE PICTURES! So, we got some cute shots of her completely hiding her face with her hands. What a little stinker!

Smile for the camera, baby girl!

Ten Tiny Toes

Flexing for the Camera

Exasperated, holding her head in her hands . . .

And finally, complete facial hide. No more pictures, Mom!!

So, as you can see, May was a busy, exciting month for us! And I know that things are just going to get bigger (literally and figuratively) and more exciting in the months to come.

Hope this finds you all well.

With love,
K.

Drive through Paradise

Alex and I took today to make the drive to Hana (pronounced Haw-nah, as the locals are quick to tell you, not Hann-uh). This drive covers about 40 miles of the north coast of Maui and offers some of the most idyllic scenery in the world! It took us more than 6 hours to cover the 40-ish miles because we stopped so frequently, took so many hikes, and drove so slowly around the constand hair-pin turns. Here are some highights!

Here we are at the beginning of the drive. The lushness of the landscape reminded me of Jurassic Park...or the Garden of Eden. One or the other.
Here are just a few of the gorgeous waterfalls the drive is famous for!

And here we are at the end of the drive, at the other end of the island!

Other highlights of the day include hikes in the rain, falling down a mud hill, laughing 'til we cried, walking through a lava tube, and a black sand beach. What a great day. :-)

We're in Hawaii!

After a very long day of traveling (total travel time from leaving our house to arriving at our condo = 18 hours), we awakened this morning to this view from our bedroom window:

Aloha!