Vrrrooom Vrrrooom

February 8, 2013 (19 +? Weeks):

The excitement of the week is that we know our baby can hear us now. Maybe every word is not crystal clear, but the basic muffled sounds and tones.  I imagine that the baby was quite excited when we went to my Cousin Rikki’s house for the Super Bowl! They are big 49’ers fans (all of the guests were offered 49’ers gear to wear during the game, from their private collection). Visiting her and her family is always fun for Gus and I. They are so enthusiastic and very entertaining when it comes to watching them watch football!

I also busted out my swimsuit again to get back into the pool on Fridays. Fridays I get in at 7:30am and leave at 6pm, so I have some free time in the middle to walk over to the outdoor pool on campus. Plus, it is, after all, “one of the best ways to exercise for pregnant women.” It was funny stepping into my speedo, as I remembered the last time I was in it my belly was flat and my boobs were two cups smaller. I felt fully prego! It was fun doing laps, mixing up my routine. I just have to be careful with my flip-turns, which I take pretty slow right now.  All of my lifts and runs this week have went well and I am feeling pretty good on my exercise front as I approach my half-way mark on the pregnancy road.

Gus’ Dad and his wife Starr came to visit to say farewell, before they move out of the country permanently to South America. They came in to town on Wednesday late night and leave tomorrow morning, making one more stop in San Diego before they leave the country. We are buying their Kia for Kelly Blue Book price, and the good thing is we can actually trust that it’s in the condition they say it is! This purchase was something we have been putting off to save money, but with Baby on the way we need to have 2 vehicles. Their visit to see us is bitter-sweet.  On one hand, I am so excited that they are doing what they want and continuing down to a beautiful country that they are very excited about. On the other hand, I am also sad knowing that they won’t be able to be a part of our baby growing up, and that Gus, Lyn and I won’t be able to see them very often. Either way, it is nice to have them stay with us before they go, especially since we don’t know when we’ll get to see them again. 

Last night I started cooking as soon as I got in the door (a fabulous meal that I had been planning in my head all day). Lyn came over as well so it was a lovely, cozy family dinner with the 5 of us wrapped around our small 4-person dinner table. I made a great big ole salad with mixed greens, lettuce & carrots & apple from our farm-share box, cherry heirloom tomatoes, walnuts from the farmer's market, and raisins with lemon juice and tahini dressing. We also had roasted zucchini and  squash stripes under organic (on sale) ravioli with my homemade sauce I had made and frozen earlier in the week, a local free-range chicken (on sale for $1/lb), and 2 special desserts we split between the 5 of us. It always feels good to cook for guests (at least one night while they stay with us). Starr’s son and daughter-in-law took the day off from work today to drive over from San Fran to spend some more time with them before they leave. We will all be having an adios dinner this evening with Gus’ sis, Lyn, too.

I have had a 13.5 pound total pregnancy weight gain. I honestly look smaller in this picture than I did last week, but it must just be the angle because I am still pretty much the same size. Here is a picture of me at 19 (+?) weeks: