Yes, I am a Crazy Pregnant Lady

Last weekend, we flew down to San Diego. This, in and of itself, is not crazy. However, given that I was 37 weeks pregnant, I knew there was the possibility that I could go into labor and risk being 500 miles away from home with a newborn baby. (And that, I think, might qualify as crazy).

Luckily, the baby decided to remain in utereo for the duration of the trip.  (I believe this might be his first attempt to earn "favorite child" status, to which I say, keep it up kid.)

While we were in San Diego, my sister Louanne, almost-sister-in-law Therese, and dear friend Amy, threw a baby shower for us.

Even though the weather was very non-San Diego (hot! humid!), it was wonderful to see so many friends and family members. I felt incredibly loved knowing how many people traveled down to San Diego just to spend the afternoon with me and the Duck.

My mother-in-law Dawn and sister-in-law Andrea drove out from Palm Springs.

Myself with Liz, Andrea, and Amy.

The next day, Josh and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. It was an extra special anniversary because we attended the wedding of our friends Curtis and Shirley. I usually want to get dressed up and go out to dinner for our anniversary, but we never do it. This year, Josh was forced to put on a suit. Thank you, Curtis and Shirley!

On our last day in San Diego, we tried to escape the heat by going to the beach. Lola was thrilled, as she loves few things more than sand.

We had a great trip, but I am thankful to be home with this baby still in my belly. 

Because THIS girl knows how to party.

Oh, my dear Lola Jane.

On August 2, my sister, Lola's beloved Auntie LouLou, got married and Lola was thrilled to be the flower girl.

For weeks, Lola talked about how she was going to wear her "beautiful flower gown" and she even expressed excitement over the glittery mary janes that I picked out for her.

But then, during the procession, right as the bridal party began to walk down the aisle, her eyes widened and she whispered, "My tummy doesn't feel good." 

I rushed her off to the bathroom, hoping that using the toilet would provide her with relief. It didn't. Bringing her back to her spot in the procession line, she whispered to me again, "My tummy doesn't feel good."  I squatted down as best I could, and said in my most confident voice, "I'm sorry that you don't feel good, but you need to walk down the aisle with your flower petals, and then sit with Daddy."  Then, I stood up, turned, and walked down the aisle, trying to smile for the photographer while praying that Lola would follow behind me.

And, she did. Actually, she walked down the aisle backwards as she dropped her flower petals, ensuring that she would not step on them. It was adorable. She made it to the alter, gave a high-five to Uncle JoeJoe, and went and sat with Josh, just as previously discussed.

To top it off, she quietly sat through the entire twenty minute ceremony, not even wiggling once. Afterwards, she exited, and when I met her and Josh, he leaned over and said, "She says her tummy doesn't feel good."  We briefly discussed what could be wrong, but were quickly herded by the photographer to the designated photo spot. 

Lining up the bridal party, the photographer placed me next to my sister, and then put Lola in front, slightly between us.  As she lifted the camera to her eye, she counted, "1...2...3!" As if on cue, Lola spewed orange vomit. In a sequence of slow motion images, Josh lunged forward with his hands cusped in attempt to catch the liquid, while I picked Lola up and held her at a downward diagonal angle away from my sister and hoped that nothing touched my sister's beautiful dress.

Somehow, the contents of Lola's stomach didn't come into contact with anyone, other than Josh's hands.  As I set Lola on the floor, she looked up at all the concerned faces staring at her and she calmly said, "I vomited at Auntie LouLou's wedding. I feel better now." 

The photographer, not at all phased, whisked my sister and Joe away, and the party went on as planned.

Things I found while packing

Christmas 2012

Things got a little crazy this year, as Lola and I got in the car and embarked upon a very long drive for  a Southern California weekend trip. At the beginning of our drive (through about hour 6), I kept thinking, "hey, this is just like those quick trips to Santa Barbara that I used to do!" But then, during hours 7, 8, and 9, as Lola repeatedly said, "I want to get out of the car! -- At Grandma's house!!" reality was reinstated and I knew then, I was definitely out of my mind.

But, we made it, and as exhausting as the travel was, it was worth it to see (and surprise!) all of our family.

Our first stop was in San Diego to visit my side of the family.

Then, the next day we woke up and drove to Palm Springs.

It was great to get the kids together, even if at times, they were a little rambuctious. (I love that.)

On Christmas Eve, I woke up around 4 AM, packed the sleeping bean in the car, and drove home. 

Between waking up early and the long drive, I was wiped out, and I didn't have the energy to bake cookies for Santa. Instead, I had our grocery store's bakery take care of it for me.  Lola didn't seem to mind.

 On Christmas morning, Lola was stoked to see that Santa had brought the toy she requested. (Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger!)

She also enjoyed playing with other gifts, like these "drinking glasses"
 

 and her dinosaur raincoat.

The highlight of the day for me was an afternoon nap. It was a wonderful day.

Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving holiday was so wonderful, I don't even know where to begin. I guess for starters, I should say that I am thankful for family members who don't mind traveling a few hundred miles to visit us.

My nephews, Reese and Elliott, endured an 8-hour car ride, and were total champs about it.

To say Lola was excited about their visit, isn't enough. She was over the moon, and when they arrived, she couldn't wait to show them (and boss them) around.

On the morning of Thanksgiving, everyone went to our local zoo to watch the animals partake in their own feast. I stayed at the house, and worked on, uh, dinner.

 


The day was so beautiful, that we ate Thanksgiving dinner on the patio.

Afterward, Manny put his camera up on the tripod and we took a family portrait. It was a great way to end the night. 

Halloween 2012

Our holiday was a mixed bag of sorts.
We started off the day with Gizmo accidentally consuming Archie's morning medicine.  Then, Gizmo vomited all over Archie, and I found myself cleaning up Archie while simultaneously conducting a work-related meeting over a conference call.  If only the people on the call could have seen me -- I think I would have received a gold star for my multitasking skills.

Gizmo ultimately recovered, but then Archie began to have difficulty holding down his meals. This was heartbreaking for me, especially since his appetite has decreased significantly in the past week.

But, on a happier note, Lola found Halloween to be absolutely thrilling. Her preschool held a costume parade and carnival, she wore her dinosaur costume from sunrise to bedtime, and she had no problem visiting our neighbors for trick-or-treating time. She was adorable, and her love for the holiday raised my spirits.

My sister was in town, and it was great to see her. Even better was the fact that she pretty much entertained Lola, so Josh and I could care for Archie. Knowing that we are nearing or at the end, I want to focus as much as I can on him. He deserves that.

A New Badge

It's a bit of a misnomer to call him my little brother, even though that's what he'll always be to me.  As demonstrated in this photo, my sister and I have learned that if we don't want him towering over us, it's necessary to wear heels around him.

He graduated from the Police Academy last week, and we can now officially call him Officer Nick. The Academy ceremony was very cool, as my father presented my brother's badge to him.

Here we are, our little law enforcement family. I think my dad has the biggest smile of the bunch. He's one proud papa.

Family Camping Trip, Part V

We also fit in some serious beach time.

Lola with Josh and Jacob, and of course, her kite.

Lola with her "Dan Dan"

 Lola with her "Auntie Auntie"

Upon her request, Lola was semi-buried in the sand.

And a family photo too!

The beach was also home to a creek, which Lola really enjoyed. Even though she is theoretically loves the ocean, she is also simultaneously terrified of it. Still water is really her preference. Josh attempted to teach her how to skip rocks.

His lesson, as he expected fell a bit flat, but she did have fun "skipping" rocks with her daddy.

Family Camping Trip, Part IV

On one of the afternoons of our trip, we went to see the local elephant seals. Whoever named thee animals really did a great job.

 Lola was mesmerized by them for approximately 3 minutes. However, the rest of us probably could have stayed and observed them all afternoon.

I tried to take a photo with Lola, but she wasn't into it. 

 

So, instead, I took a photo of Daisy, who by the way, was also interested in the seals for about 3 minutes. 

I think we were the only American tourists at the seal santcuary. We were surrounded by European travelers. So, in typical tourist fashion, I requested that someone take a family photo for us. Lola has such a serious look on her face, she might as well be saying, "These are my people."

Family Camping Trip, Part II

I realize that I'm about to contradict myself from my previous claim that our only camping activities consist of eating, sleeping, and reading. While it is true that we do mostly sleep and eat, and occasionally read, on this particular trip we were lucky enough to be staying in a state park that was home to an easy 3.5 mile hiking trail. 

Being the bossy mother hen that I am, I broke the eat-sleep-read cycle and I rallied the troops out into the woods. 

 

Josh insisted on carrying Lola on his back.

He claimed it would be a good work out.

At different points during the hike, there were informational signs about the area. Several of them mentioned animals native to the area, like mountain lions, bobcats, and snakes. Since my niece had already seen two snakes near the campground, I was a little nervous about running into more natives. 

Thankfully, the only thing we saw was a lizard, which my nephew plucked off a log like Bear Grylls! He flipped it over, you can see that the lizard has a blue belly.

Other informational signs described the native plants, including one that went into extensive details about poison oak. I was particularly thankful for that sign because directly next to the sign was a beautiful bush full of red berries that I thought looked delicious. The sign indicated that poison oak bushes had red berries and included an illustration that was strikingly identical to the berries that I wanted to snack on.

Halfway through our trip, we ran into a family hiking the opposite direction as us, and the father said, "By the way, there are some berry bushes ahead, but I don't recommend eating them because they are very sour."

Can you get poison oak in your mouth? I'm thankful to say, I don't know.


However, speaking of awkward moments, Andrea and I took an awkward family photo. For whatever reason, she is grabbing my waistband, and I about to punch her in the chest.

Realizing how awkward we were, our subsequent photos proved to be futile as we couldn't stop laughing.

When we got back to camp, Lola and Josh were a sweaty mess. Lola was less than thrilled about the situation, but I was thankful for the coin-operated lukewarm showers available to us.