Cali Trip Day 5

Monday, February 7th, 2011
Our last day in sunny California was filled with good times with my mom, but also some errands. We started off the day by going through my kid stuff in the attic; pulling out what we’d like my mom to bring up to Seattle when Tadpole is born (books, a few stuffed animals, lego duplo blocks), putting aside some things I don’t need to keep any more, and looking at all the toys Tadpole can play with when she’s older. Some of the things will stay at Grandma’s house so Tadpole and her nieces have something to play with when they visit, while others might come to our home once Tadpole is a few years of age. It was fun going through all the old toys and telling Andrew about them all. He had fun checking out how a few of the toys I grew up with worked. Two boxes we did not pull out were the My Little Pony box, and the Barbie box. Tadpole can wait until she’s at least two to be exposed to some of those. Of course while going through all this the animals wanted to help out.

Shika is my cat, and Hoshi's half sister. But since she's a twin to Bree (my mom's cat), she lives at home with my mom

Bree doesn't like staying still. So in order to take a picture of her I had to hold her

Auzzie!!! Our "puppy-dog." He totally still thinks he's a puppy even though he'll be turning 14 this summer

After that fun rollback in time we went off to run a few errands, and to make sure Andrew got his In N Out.  Then we went to one of my favorite places in the world: Kelly Park. Sadly the Happy Hollow part of Kelly Park was closed for the day, but the Japanese Friendship gardens were open!

Japanese Friendship garden. They'll finally be getting more koi later this year.

 We took a nice stroll through the garden, and my mom took some pictures of Andrew and me in our “love shirts.” I really wanted maternity pics of us in the gardens, and am happy we got some great shots! And Andrew took a few of me and my mom. ^_^

Showing off our "love" shirts

Giving our love to baby Tadpole

Aww, Andrew loves me! <3

Me and my mommy. ^_^

The garden just started to get a hint of my favorite scent that resides there: the sakura (cherry blossoms). Some of the sakura trees were just starting to be in bloom. I LOVE the smell of them! I anxiously await them blooming in the Seattle area so Andrew and I can go on walks just to smell them. 

One of the many types of sakura at the garden.

 I really wish Monday was longer; that we could have hung out with my mom more and done more things together. But I am happy for the time we were able to spend with her (and the sun). We left that evening from warm and sunny California, to cold and damp Seattle. We’re totally happy the Cali sun followed us up north for a few days!

Our trip was a blessed time with family and friends, celebrating Tadpole’s life in anticipation for her to enter the world. Thank you again to everyone who blessed our little one, and us, with gifts while we were in Cali! We are so thankful and overjoyed!

Cali Trip Day 4

Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Sunday was our day to sleep in, which for this trip means we got up at 7:30. We went to church that morning at my hometown church where we were able to hear Pastor John preach. I was very happy he was teaching that morning because he recently announced that he will be retiring next year in January. It was great to be home and hear words from the pastor I grew up with, and to be able to see many people I haven’t been able to see in a long while.

After church Andrew and I went to Togo’s to meet up with my guy friends from high school. I love being able to see them any time I go home to visit, and being able to eat at Togo’s was an extra bonus (I love Togo’s!!). It was fun being able to catch up with them and goof off. 

Me and the guys. Andrew's taking the pic.

After that, Andrew and I headed back to my mom’s place for the baby shower my mom and my sister-in-law, Amy, planned. Sadly I don’t have a lot of pictures from this event yet, but I’ll do an update later once people have been able to send me copies of the photos they took. For now, I’ll use the ones I “stole” from my best friend, Alison (thanks, Alison!). While the shower was going on, Andrew, his dad, my brother, and my brother’s son played ball outside while they waited for the Super Bowl to start.

My mom started off the shower with everyone saying how they knew me and who they were to make sure everyone knew one another. Then we played games that Amy planned! Everyone had to guess how big my belly was using yarn. Alison guessed almost my exact size! Though since she just had her lil one (my cute adorable niece Soleil) three months ago, she was the most recently experienced to guess the accurate size. 

Seeing what my belly size really is.

For the next game, Amy read off a series of questions with multiple choice answers (all relating to babies and pregnancy), and we had to try and get the most correct. There were some pretty easy questions, but also some very hard questions, and some that were just random! The one I remember the answer for is that babies are able to swallow and breathe at the same time, and adults cannot. Julie was able to get the most correct, and thus won! She also came in first place for the final game; making a baby out of play dough! Everyone, but me, was given a small container of play dough. They then had 3 minutes to create a baby model out of it and I had to vote on which one I thought was best. It was so hard to choose! I had four top favorites, and I picked Julies. But since she had already won and I had to pick my second favorite, which was Sarah's.

Me and Amy examining the model Julie made

Sarah won second place!

 We took a little break to eat some delicious snacks, included chocolate chip cookies with Oreos in the middle! And then I opened Tadpole’s gifts. She was getting really excited during the end of it and was really kicking. I think she knew how much everyone in the room loved her and was blessing her with adorable clothes, books, blankets, toys, etc! Thank you everyone so much for blessing little Tadpole with your generosity. I know she is going to enjoy and love all that was given to her. Andrew and I of course feel blessed for all your love and support too. ^_^

Andrew and I with my brother Jay, his wife Amy, and their son Kayden

At the end of the shower I was able to spend some time with my new niece, Soleil. I am so happy Andrew and I were able to meet both our new nieces during our trip! They are such cuties! And you can see that they have totally different personalities already beginning to shine through. I’ll end the blog with a few pictures of Soleil, showing her off, like what I did with my last entry with Adelyn. ^_^

Andrew’s folk’s stayed for dinner after the shower, and everyone but me enjoyed watching the game. I kept myself occupied with organizing all the gifts we got that weekend and trying to figure out what to take back to Seattle on our way home, and what to leave for my mom to bring up when Tadpole is born. If you didn’t guess, I’m not a huge sports watching fan. Though I am happy the Packers won since that’s the team Andrew roots for.

It was nice having our parents together and to share a meal. But shortly after the game ended, Mark and Karlyn headed home to Seaside. Andrew and I stayed up for a little bit to finish organizing all our new baby things, but then we went to bed early to help us catch up on some much needed rest before our last day in Cali. 

Us and Andrew's folks

Aww, my hubby and mommy love me and Tadpole!

And now to show off my niece, Soleil:

Soleil just felt her cousin kick her! She looks kind of shocked by it.

Me and my best friend that I've known since I was born! And now our two girls will know one another from early childhood too.

Me and my niece.

This photo makes it so I can't wait to see Andrew hold our child!

Cali Trip Day 3

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

We had a very early start to our day because we knew it would be filled with driving to and from SLO so we could visit with my brother Tim, his wife and their new baby. There was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to meet my new niece!

We started off our day with Val and Andrew’s parents. We wanted to see if this huge military garage sale was going on because it tends to have a lot of baby supplies in great condition. Sadly we drove to Marina and it wasn’t going on... But! We did take the opportunity to have a photo session on a beach cliff. Val is a great photographer, and took some great maternity shots of me, and me with Andrew, and us with his folks. It was a beautiful morning , and a wonderful landscape created by God for our background. I’ll post some of the pics once Val is able to mail me copies. 

Me and one of my besties - Val. ^_^

Walking back to the car. This is the only pic I have from the photo shoot. That and the one of me and Val. All the rest are on Val's camera and Marks. Those will be in another post

After saying goodbye to Mark and Karlyn, Andrew, Valerie and I got in our rental car and headed south to Arroyo Grande (the city Val lives in and the city we had planned to meet up with my brother). Val and I spent most the time in the car catching up on our lives and talking about God. And of course looking at the landscape and all the horses, cows, goats and sheep we passed by. We even saw a little herd of deer, and I spotted three rabbit running along a creek. We stopped for lunch at a Subway where I discovered I’m able to balance a cup of water on my baby bump. 

When we got to Arroyo Grande the first thing I did was say hi to my brother, who happened to be holding his sweet precious daughter, Adelyn. I asked to hold her right away so I could give my nieces the snuggles I’ve been dying to give her since she was born three months ago. Tadpole even gave a little kick of hello to her cousin who will only be about six months older than her. 

Even though I didn’t want to give the little one up, I let Andrew hold her. He’s so cute holding a little baby! I can’t wait for Tadpole to be in his arms being snuggled by her daddy. ^_^

After the initial Adelyn snuggled, we all headed off to The Village to meet up with Val’s hubby (and our friend), and some of Tim and Beth’s friends from the area. We enjoyed walking around The Village with friends in the warm sun. Though this is when I regretted only having maternity clothes for the weather in Washington. I was hot! But loving it. ^_^

We parted ways with Val and Dan and went to have a sunset dinner with Tim, Beth and their friends at the Ventana Grill, which sits on a cliff above the ocean. I have not seen a sunset this epic in a long while! So gorgeous! So beautiful! So bright and brilliant! We of course took the opportunity to take some pictures. 

The Ventana Grill

So pretty!

We were SO LOVING IT!

Daddies on the outside, Mommies next, and then the babies in the middle

 Even though we didn’t know everyone who was at dinner with us, what was fun was that Christan and his wife Allegra were there. They were the ones who took the professional photos of Andrew and I in our wedding clothes on the beach in August. It was great seeing them again and catching up. 

You should really check out Christan's Photography site

Christan and Allegra took photos for us like this one

Sadly Andrew and I had to hit the road after dinner so we wouldn’t get into San Jose too late that night. We of course made sure we had some more snuggle time with Adelyn before we left. I am very happy we were able to meet Adelyn during our trip, and see Tim and Beth again. It was nice to catch up with my family who live the most south from us.

Now to show off some adorable pictures of my niece, Adelyn.

She was playing with her tongue and I wanted a picture of it, and she stuck it out for me.

Such a cutie!!!!!!!!

Tim is such a great dad. I love this photo of him and his daughter.

Comparison

Today's update would have been Cali Trip Day 3, but my lappy got a virus this morning and is currently turned off and waiting for Andrew to come home and fix it. That's where all the pictures from our trip are. =( And I don't really want to post without some pictures from our trip. But I still want to post today, so I thought I'd have a little fun and show you two pregnancy comparison pictures of me.

August 30, 2010 - Week 5

January 30, 2011 - Week 27

Just look at the difference! Wow! When we took the January picture I showed Andrew the two pictures above and was flipping back and forth between them. I started off so small, and then wha-bam! My belly expanded to make room for Tadpole's growth. And boy is she growing! Right now (week 29) the average baby is more than 14 and a half inches long, and weighs around 2 and 3/4 pounds. Our lil girl is growing so fast! We still have about 2 more months left until Tadpole is due. I'm sure I'll look like I'm trying to hide a watermelon under my shirt by the time labor begins.

Cali Trip Day 2

Friday, February 4th, 2011

I was so happy I slept well our first night in Cali. It made it so I had enough energy to get through the whole day without feeling sluggish. Plus the beautiful sunshine probably helped to lift my spirits and wake me up a bit. We took the morning easy on Friday while we looked forward to lunch with the Thompsons in Cali (the family who just moved from WA to CA that I mentioned in yesterdays post).

It was so great to have the Thompsons come over to Andrew’s folk’s place for lunch. Micah (their two and a half year old) was a little confused as to how Andrew and I could be there when he knew he had to travel a long way just a few days before to get to California and their new home. It was cute to see him process through the information as we explained that we came to visit Andrew’s parents and him and his family all the way from Washington. After that, and sweet hugs, he was full of energy and ready to play and eat! We all played outside and inside as we talked about the glorious sun God created, the Thompsons’ move to Cali, and how God has been working in our lives. It was a delicious lunch and a great start to the day.

The distance between WA and CA just can't separate us!

Soon after the Thompsons’ left, Andrew and I were “kicked” out of the house so Mark and Karlyn could prepare for Tadpole’s first baby shower. We happily headed to the beach, a REAL beach, made with sand and not pebbles. Oh how my feet missed sand between my toes!

This is what REAL beaches are made of

Cool sand between my toes while soaking up the sun ^_^

Andrew and I enjoyed walking in the water, sitting in the sand, and just being with one another in one of our favorite settings that you can’t really find in WA. We spent two magnificent hours at the beach. I wonder if Tadpole was able to hear the crashing of the waves over the sound of the swishing of the amniotic fluid she’s in, and all the sounds my body makes that I’m not even aware of. I know she got an extra dose of vitamin D from me basking in the sun. ^_^

So happy to be at the beach and in the water!

Andrew off to play in the waves

The beautiful beach and blue sky!

I had fun taking pictures of our rings in the sand

**As I write this, Tadpole is kicking at my ribs and making it very hard to concentrate… and it hurts… She’s a strong lil girl!!! Don’t break anything, Tadpole.**

After our little excursion we picked up one of my best friends from the bus station. Valerie came up from Arroyo Grande to see us and come to the baby shower. We hadn’t seen her since our wedding! It was so great to see her and catch up. Then it was back to Andrew’s folk’s house for Tadpole’s first baby shower! 

Mark made a print out of Tadpole's (fictional) Facebook page. And I'm holding one of Tadpole's new toys, Prince Frederick the XXVII (aka Freddie)

I felt so blessed by all the ladies who came (the men all went out for pizza). The majority of the women I didn’t know, but they knew Andrew and wanted to bless our little Tadpole. Karlyn started the shower by having everyone say their name and how they knew me or Andrew. It was so neat to hear everything they shared, and sometimes very interesting to learn how they first heard of me. During the introductions though, I got a little distracted because my mom was able to feel Tadpole kick for the first time!!! We were both so excited for the moment, and the little strong hello Tadpole was giving to her Maimie. 

I am so happy Valerie caught the moment on her camera!

Karlyn and her friend Lynn had three games planned for us. First everyone had to try and find the most hidden paper cut out baby bottles  in the room (my mom won that game). Then we all had to try and draw the best baby in the womb picture while we had the paper on a book on top of our heads! Alicia won that game. And the last game was baby bingo, which Valerie won.

We took a break to eat some delicious food before the gift opening began and I was able to discover what everyone had blessed Tadpole with. Such a variety of gifts ranging from cute outfits, to handmade toys and blankets, to pacifiers and more! Thank you again everyone for blessing Tadpole with your love and generosity! I can’t wait for her to use all her gifts. ^_^ We ended the shower in prayer time, where everyone prayed for little Tadpole, Andrew and myself. 

My mom's praying for lil Tadpole

It was so wonderful to meet some of the women who have known Andrew his whole life, or through a bible study he was in when he was younger, etc. I had fun chatting with them all and trying to remember everyone’s name.

This is almost everyone who was at the shower. Some had to leave early

The whole day was amazing. Even though I was exhausted by the end of it, I enjoyed each and every moment!

Cali Trip Day 1

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

I ended my last post telling you about Tadpole’s activeness the morning of our flight. She woke me up at 4:30am! And that was after going to bed at midnight and having trouble going to sleep. I figured we had a two hour flight to San Jose, so I’d sleep on the airplane and catch up on some ZzZzzs that way. Yeah, that didn’t happen.

I’ve flown a lot, and it wasn’t until flying pregnant that I realized how little back support the seats give you. Usually I curl up on the seat and am totally fine, but I was not able to get myself in any of my normal positions due to my baby bump. I tried to snooze and maybe got 15 minutes in, but I gave up near the end. Other than that, flying pregnant was just fine. I think little Tadpole was startled when we took off though. We were sitting right behind the wing, so you can really hear and feel the engines powering up. I believe it caught our little girl by surprise judging by the movement she made right when it started.Poor little thing. =(

We took off from Seattle in this

And landed in Cali in this! ^_^

After we landed and got our rental car we met my mom for lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. I really wish I remembered to take out my camera and take some pictures. But I was so tired my mind was not fully functional. It was so good to see my mom again! We hadn’t seen her since our CA reception in August. She was excited to see us too, and see the baby bump. Sadly Tadpole was taking a nap, since she was so active earlier the morning, so my mom didn’t get to feel her kick that day.

After a lovely, delicious lunch with my mom (we really need a Sweet Tomatoes or Fresh Choice up here…), Andrew and I got back in our rental car and headed to Seaside to spend the first part of the weekend at his folk’s house. We were both soaking in the sunshine and heat, and I think I fell asleep in the car for a little bit. It was so gorgeous! We both really miss California. Not just the sun, but the landscapes as well.

When we got to Seaside we took a little detour and stopped by Glen and Shilo’s new place (Glen was the pastor who married us). They just moved from WA to CA, and now live about 2 blocks away from Andrew’s parent’s house. Crazy! It was fun to see their new home and church where they will be serving the Lord. Both kids were napping, so we set up a lunch date for Friday.

Then we went to Andrew’s parent’s house. It was great to see Mark and Karlyn again too. And to tell you the truth, I was extremely tired at this point, so I don’t really remember much of what happened…. But I do remember that Mark and Karlyn made a fabulous fajita dinner! Andrew had fun getting old books and toys down from the attic to see if there was anything Tadpole might enjoy. It was fun to go through the stack of Golden Books he grew up with. I also remember that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow, and that I had the most decent amount of sleep that night compared to the three previous nights. 

Oh yeah! And while waiting at the airport to board, Tadpole was pushing out with her hand, and doing a palm to finger tip movement with her fingers spread out. It was so cute! I was able to put my finger in her little palm as we pushed back and forth for a while. ^_^

Cali Trip Day 2 to come late!