Weekend Away

Back in September of last year, my mom proposed that my sisters and I go on a girls trip to California and stay at my parent's condo. Of course, I was all for it. The flights were booked, and then the idea of the weekend drifted out of my mind because President's Day weekend seemed so far away.

When February finally rolled around, I was very much ready to escape the cold and gloom of UT. (I'm not a winter person and never will be.) My sister lives in CA and warned us that CA was cold. Let me just say that compared to the temperatures in UT, it felt like paradise.

We flew out Friday morning, February 15. Going into the trip, we each got to pick 1 activity that we wanted to do, so everyone was happy. I picked massages or facials. I ended up being the only person who got a massage, while others chose a facial. (Which I still want to do someday.) Man, it felt so nice to have the knots in my back worked on. At the end of my hour-long massage, the masseuse said, "Wow, you were very tense." It was an ideal way to start the trip. 

Later, we went to a tasty Italian Restaurant and walked the beach. That evening, we ventured to the hot tub for some relaxation. I love hot-tubs and it was so tempting to dive in, but I resisted the urge and only allowed my feet to enjoy the hot spa. (Thank you pregnancy)

Saturday morning, Jessica decided that we clean up the beach. This was an organized event with over 500 people. We were given gloves and grabbers making the process easy, but also leaving our arms sore from gripping. There was so much Styrofoam on the beach it was overwhelming. 

My mom picked an elegant tea party for her activity. We wore silly hats and enjoyed mini sandwiches. 

Lindsey wanted to explore an Art Museum in LA called The LACMA. There were some neat pieces there. 

An exhibit made for me!

After this, we were all exhausted and starving. We settled on a Mexican restaurant for dinner and it was phenomenal. The guacamole served there was the best any of us had ever tasted. Since eating at that restaurant in CA, I went to one of my favorite local Mexican places. It's definitely gone down on my list and doesn't even compare.

Memories were made and we have some new inside jokes. You're a good sport, Mom!

Sunday was low-key. We spent the morning in church and then headed to a Flea Market (Jill's activity). It was nice to walk around and see some neat stuff. We finished up just in time before the rain came. Later in the afternoon, we went on a "hike" that ended with some spectacular views. It was super windy though.

Monday morning, my mom and I went on a walk. (I've always been an early riser.) The rest of the day was spent eating and shopping. What's new. 

We each took a day to share a thought or something that inspires us. On the day that my Mom shared her thought, she gave us each a cross-stitch of our wedding bouquets. This was so thoughtful and sweet. Here's mine:

Here are all of ours in the order we got married in:

It was wonderful to spend some time to breathe and relax. I've had too much on my plate lately. I'm so thankful to be married to someone who can easily take-over as a single parent for 4 days and do it smoothly. James and I are both blessed.

I've always heard the quote, "Sisters by blood. Friends by choice." I feel like this quote sums up our weekend. I'll always have fond memories of our weekend spent together in CA. Thank you, Mom, for reading the book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" which inspired you to make this all happen.

Oh Baby

We found out right after Thanksgiving weekend that we're expecting a baby! We were ecstatic to see a positive pregnancy test. I'm due at the end of July and it still seems so far away. (The good news is that I've already talked to my doc about being induced a week early. I don't want a 10 pounder which is pretty likely.) I forgot how slowly pregnancy moves.

We announced the news to my family at Christmas. (I hadn't been to the doctor yet, so the due date is off.)

James seems to be excited about the idea of a new sibling, but we'll see if he still feels that way when he actually understands what it means. Andrew and I both had dreams that we were having a baby boy. Andrew's dream was more specific than mine. We named the baby boy, "Bobby." Since then, we've all been calling the baby in mommy's tummy, "Baby Bobby" and I think we'll probably continue doing that until the baby is born.

When I was pregnant with James, Andrew seemed certain that James was a girl. He was shocked when we found out we were having a boy. This time around, Andrew hasn't had any strong inklings or feelings. (I don't think he wanted to be wrong again.) I have been worried to guess myself. We have been talking about boy and girl names and I have a running list on my phone, just in case I'm suddenly struck with a fabulous name idea which hasn't happened yet, unfortunately. 

We've been trying to explain to James that Bobby is in my tummy and he frequently tells people that. Our conversations with him have also led him to believe that he has a baby in his belly too, so sometimes he shows me his gut. (And let me say, James weighs over 28 pounds, so at this point he definitely looks more pregnant than me.) James saw some pictures of the baby and loves them. He recently insisted on bringing them in the car with him. 

Yesterday we found out the gender of our baby. It's so nice that my doctor allows us to do the gender check at 16 weeks. I even got in a few days early. I'm still not quite technically 16 weeks. Let's be honest... I want a girl. It's nice to have one of each gender and to know that you'll have both. I was trying to brace myself for the idea that it would be a boy though, just in case. I didn't want to leave the doctor's office disappointed.

"James would love having a brother, they would be pals, I already have boy clothes, etc." All of these thoughts were thrown out the window when I heard the ultrasound technician say, "It's a girl!" I was thrilled. Now I like to tell people that we can be done after two kids... "2 and through has a nice ring to it." I don't think that's the plan though. 

She has the cutest little profile already

By the way, the ultrasound technician was very thorough in explaining to me why it was a girl and she even drew an arrow on one of the pictures we got to make it undoubtedly clear.

When I phoned Andrew to tell him the news, he was giddy. It was adorable. He seemed like he was going to burst. Apparently right after my call, he couldn't resist and announced the news to all of his coworkers.

I like so many more girl names than boy ones currently, so that is a huge perk. I'm a bit picky with names though. I don't want the name I pick to be too common and popular, and apparently I'm pretty basic because all the names I like are well-known. I think James knew all along that he was going to have a baby sister. We asked him countless times, almost daily even, if "Baby Bobby" was a boy or a girl and almost always he said, "girl," or told us, "sister." 

I've been wanting to snuggle a baby lately and can't wait to hold our little girl in July! We're hopeful that this time around, we won't have a NICU baby and that we'll actually be able to enjoy meeting and cuddling with her. Having James snatched from me after just being born was heartbreaking. 

I posted the following picture of James on Facebook and Instagram to let our friends know our happy news:

"Best brother in the universe!" James is dying to meet his baby SISTER this July.