San Jose Rose Gardens

Bump Date Time...

How Far Along: 22 weeks 

Size of Baby: Spaghetti Squash (8 inches, 1 pound!) 

Developments in Baby This Week: Baby has hair, eyelashes and eyebrows! He can also perceive light, and hear all the sounds going on inside and out. 

Weight Gain: 18 pounds 

Maternity Clothes: That really is all that's comfortable now. It's all about comfort these days! Maxi skirts and stretchy pants... now that's what i'm talking about. But really, if I could just stay in sweats and a T-Shirt all day that would be divine! 

Sleep: Sleeping has been good. The weird dreams just keep coming. Now we are out here in California we had to down size to a smaller bed. It's difficult to fit two humans and all my snuggling pillows on there. But we are making it work! 

Food Cravings: Anything that looks good really. 

My Symptoms: I'm just hungry all the time. I could eat 9 full meals a day! 

Movement: YES YES YES! Last week was the first time I felt this little guy kick on top of the High Roller in Vegas! Since then i've felt a little here and there. Yesterday I think was the most that I've felt him. I swear he was doing an Irish jig for a solid 30 minutes. I absolutely love feeling him. It's just the reassurance I need. 

Names: I think we've got it! That's crazy to say. But who knows... it could change. So for now we are keeping it a secret! 

Baby bump and I did a little exploring in San Jose this week. I think I found one of my new favorite places. Let's just say it's gorgeous. Oh, and, it's America's Best Rose Garden which was no surprise after about the 100th lap around. It reminded me of the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival, but instead of Tulips there were thousands and thousands of roses. One of my worst fears being bees, I had to exert all my energy just to walk down those buzzing colorful isles of blossoms. I'm so glad I did because it was truly breathtaking. After awhile I even forgot about the bees. Let's just say this is now a preferred method of enjoying such beautiful weather. 

Welcome to California

We are here! We made it to California and are already loving it. The first few days were a little bit of an adjustment but we are getting aquatinted with silicon valley more and more each day. In just one short week we have learned a lot about this valley we will be calling home for the summer: 

1. EVERYTHING is more expensive out here. Food, gas, movie tickets...you name it! 

2. They do not believe in plastic bags. Not at the grocery store and not at any other stores for that matter. The first time grocery shopping, Taylor and I were surprised to find the cashier begin to hand us our things with no bags. Costco Style. Ha. I guess we will have to buy one of those cloth handled grocery bags and become environmentally friendly. 

3. Although it's California, it's still breezy and chilly at night. (I needed to bring more sweaters!)

4. Traffic here is ridiculous! There are so many people. So when you see a yellow light...you B-line it! Some other interesting things you will find on the road here are lanes merging in the middle of the road! Not in the right or the left hand lanes but directly in the center of the road. That was a little bit of a wake up call the first time we experienced a middle lane merge. 

5. Every area in the valley is absolutely gorgeous. My favorite is all the greenery. The streets are lined with huge trees and the fences with blossoming flowers. It's hard not to drive down the street and just smile. 

I'm sure we will be learning lots more this summer but those are just a few learning curves from this first week out here. 

We feel so blessed to be having this amazing experience. I wouldn't want to do it with any one else! 

What Happens In Vegas

To begin our journey out to California for the summer we HAD to stop in Vegas for a little fun. Thankfully our apartment in California has furnishings and housewares, so we pretty much packed up the car with clothes and were on the road to our new adventure! We ended up finding a killer groupon for a hotel in Lake Las Vegas. It was gorgeous! The night we drove in we grabbed dinner, walked around an outdoor mall, and went to see Age of Adeline (It's a good, but slow movie. Tay hated it. ha. ). The next day we enjoyed sleeping in... AHHHHH who doesn't love that?! Although it was cloudy, we laid by the pool, kayaked around Lake Las Vegas, and played ping pong. It's been awhile since i've played ping pong but we had a pretty heated game. I even had a secret move called the belly bump. Sadly, it wasn't as successful as I thought it could be. The ping pong ball didn't bounce far... 

21 Weeks! 

 That afternoon we went to another outdoor mall at the end of the strip. It's called Town Square and it's one of my absolute favorites. It has a cute little playground and a grass area in the middle of the grounds. It was such a beautiful day so we honestly laid out on the grass for a few hours. We watched couples walk by and kids chase the birds as we talked about our future. 

And of course, I made Taylor stand in the line to take a picture at the Vegas sign! In all my years of visting Vegas, I have never done it. We had to check it off the list. 

We topped off the night by walking down the strip. We found the cutest little side street. Down this cute little side street we found one of the Strips newest additions. THE HIGH ROLLER! The tallest ferris wheel in the world! Again, we gave in. It's like we were tourists or something. It was exciting to see Vegas from a whole new perspective. At the very top of the wheel, my stomach began to flutter again. I put my hands on my belly and BAM, there he was. Baby boys first kick! 

To top off the night we spoiled ourselves with some delicious Sprinkles cupcakes. WOWZA! 

20 Weeks

 On Monday we had our 20 week anatomy scan. I absolutely love seeing our baby boy! This visit is especially nerve racking because they go through all the physical measurements and characteristics and make sure they are looking right. The most comforting thing to hear was good, good, good... all across the board! In fact, right when the ultrasound tech put the probe on my stomach baby gave us a good clear thumbs up.

This little boy knew exactly what to do for his worried mama... a thumbs up that everything is going good. hahahaha. 

I did not want the appointment to end. It was so relaxing and relieving just to be in there and watch our baby twist and squirm for 45 minutes. We saw his strong heart beating, his kidney's, brain, and diaphragm. His cute little legs were crossed at the ankles the whole time, so polite. We already love him so much! 

Bump Date Time...

How Far Along: 20 weeks 

Size of Baby: Banana (6.5 Inches)  

Developments in Baby This Week: Developing taste buds and practicing gulping! His boy parts are also developing a little here and there... 

Weight Gain: 15 pounds  

Maternity Clothes: The whole elastic pant trick will only get me about half way through the day and then they become extremely uncomfortable. So for the first time this week I threw on some smokin' hot maternity pants. I do have to say they are pretty ridiculous looking off, but once on, they feel like a dream! I'm in love. I will scream it from the rooftops. I LOVE MATERNITY PANTS! Who knows if i'll ever switch back to normal pants after baby comes. 

Sleep: I am a stomach sleeper so it's becoming more and more difficult to lay on my ever growing belly. The nightly pee is still a thing. 

Food Cravings: I don't know what's wrong with me, but I got nada. I just am hungry all the time! 

My Symptoms: Sciatica or Pelvic girdle pain, whichever it is...It HURTS! 

Movement: I have not felt any kicks or turns yet. Although at times I question wether it's my stomach or the baby... there hasn't been anything defining. I have an anterior placenta which creates an extra padding between the baby and the outside world. So hopefully I will start feeling him in the next few weeks. 

Names: OHHH my gosh. It is such a hard decision. This will be his name for the rest of his life, no pressure. But we have 20 more weeks to figure it out!