Week 23 (12/12/09 – 12/18/09)

Sign of the Week, “more.”

This weekend we helped friends Matt and Kristy “warm their new home.” Their Housewarming Party was Saturday night and we had a great time with friends. We gave them a doorknocker engraved with their name on it for their gift. We finally watched their wedding video from over a year ago and all laughed at the dancing part of the reception. The guys also watched the UFC fight and played pool. Fun party!

Okay so my stomach is officially bigger this week. Mrs. Thames and I went Christmas shopping Tuesday night and I tried on my first few pairs of maternity pants and jeans. I ended up with a few things but not many. I definitely will have to do more shopping but I guess I will have to go online because there is not much at all to choose from in the stores. I was pretty disappointed.

On Thursday morning I woke up in a great mood. Today was Pajama Day at school. I told Eric that if every day was PJ day in the life of a pregnant woman you would have some pretty cheerful pregnant ladies. The kids had a blast wearing their PJ’s, listening to the story of The Polar Express, and sipping hot cocoa. My teacher friend, Wendy also gave me an Old Navy Jean Jacket that she wore when she was pregnant. This was the first hand-me-down maternity item I had been given and it was great. That was so nice of her. It was a fun day at school.

Later that evening Mom-Mom and I went shopping at the mall. We walked around the whole mall and bought a few Christmas things. Mom-Mom and I have been meeting at Lynnhaven Mall ever since I have been able to drive. Pretty soon we will be pushing a stroller around the mall with us!

At school on Friday morning I finally told the children that I was pregnant. The responses were great. Some of them let out a long oooooh, some a big cheer, and other said, “I knew it, I knew it.” A handful of them said that they thought I was pregnant and one little girl even said that she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to hurt my feeling if I had been eating a lot. One little girl asked me, “so do you have the baby yet, when will you get it?” They all wanted to know if I was having a boy or a girl and what I was going to name him/her. I laughed at many of the cute things they said. I told them that we would take a poll of those thinking I was having a boy or a girl and they could help me come up with names. They are very excited.

On Friday Baby Thames and I went to Aunt Loretta’s for our Christmas Tea Party. This year we all wore our pajamas to the tea instead of fancy Christmas attire like every other year. We had fun sipping hot chocolate (instead of tea), exchanging ornaments, Polyanna gifts, and cookies. My little dog, Quila, went with us to the party too. Quila has been very sick this week and last with a digestive problem and had to go to the vet today. I didn’t want to leave her home alone so I took her with me. She goes most places with me. We hope she gets better very soon.

Week 22 (12/05/09 – 12/11/09)

I spent most of the weekend updating my blog. Like I said before everything was written on paper it just wasn’t typed. It takes a long time to journal and find pictures to match…but I enjoy it. I was determined to get updated on my blog this weekend because I wanted to send out my Christmas cards this week and put the web address inside for all of our extended family and friends.

On Sunday, Eric and I went to Ian’s baby shower. How cool was it that he was able to be at his own shower. Eric held Ian, the first time he had held a baby since Chase, six years ago. No worries, he’ll get lots of practice pretty soon! Michelle, Russ, and Ian look so cute together as a family. We gave Ian his first train with each of the boxcars representing a different letter in his name…so cute. The shower was a success.

Later that evening, Aunt Erlinda, Aunt Loretta, Amber, and I went to Busch Gardens Christmas Town. We were actually supposed to go to Williamsburg all weekend, go to the parade, spend the night, go to Busch Gardens, and shop; but it got canceled because of the weather. Christmas Town was really pretty.

We have started something new this week. As many of you know I have just finished a class in American Sign Language. I had told Eric as I was taking the class that he had better learn some of the signs so that he could communicate effectively with the baby. So…I decided that I would teach Eric “A Sign A Week!” The sign of the week was "milk." Stay posted as to the new signs that Eric learns along the way.

On Wednesday night Baby Thames and I went to “Bunco” at Aunt Loretta’s. Usually I do not play the game I just go over and visit with everyone that is playing. As I was sitting on the couch, working on school work (as usual) Amber was surprised that she could finally notice my belly rounding out. “You finally look pregnant sitting there,” she said. I’ve been noticing my belly rounding out for a while!

On Thursday I had a doctor visit with my Breast Cancer Specialist, Dr. Carman. I have been getting regular mammograms for years since my mother died so young with breast cancer. Anyway, Dr. Carman was very excited about my news and gave me strict doctor’s orders not to wait very long to have a second one. I told her not to worry that Eric and I both didn’t want to wait real long before having a second child anyway. She was happy to hear that since she did so pleasantly remind me that I am not getting any younger! I think being 30 and having our first child is a perfect age. I also think it’s neat that our child will be born on a decade year. I was born in 1980 and it’s so easy to calculate back how old I was in certain years. My baby will have the benefit of that easy calculation as well…a 2010 baby!

Week 21 (11/28/09 – 12/04/09)

We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving doing things around the house and getting down our Christmas decorations. I got up in the attic and went through many of Chase’s old baby things that Amber had given me. I pulled out all the gender neutral clothes so that I could wash them.

On Sunday I woke up with another leg cramp. I’m getting really tired of these. I also started having really bad indigestion this week. That’s not much fun either. I guess Tums (for the indigestion) and bananas (for the leg cramps) will become my new best friends.

We had a Thanksgiving Tea Party at Aunt Loretta’s on Sunday afternoon. Amber told me that she had 2 dreams about the baby over the weekend. Both times she said that she missed the birth. You see she is the person that has already put dibs on being in the delivery room with Eric. She has always wanted to see a baby being born and has always told me that I was her only hope. After all, I was the one with her riding in the ambulance to MCV hospital the night Jordon was born and was also in the delivery room to see Chase being born. I guess it’s her turn now! My dad’s friend Louise also told me that she had a dream about the baby. She dreamed that the baby was a boy and he was very smart. I’m glad that everyone else is having dreams because I haven’t had any lately.

On Tuesday night at 9:00 I had the coolest experience ever. The baby had the hiccups. My stomach was going crazy about every 8 seconds. I felt so bad for the baby because he/she was moving around all over the place probably wondering what in the world was going on.

On Wednesday night all of the girls in the family had our annual dinner/Ornament exchange at Ruby Tuesdays. I got the cutest ornaments from Aunt Loretta, a mommy and daddy owl. I also got surprised with a gift from Taylor and Brandon. My fellow Monarchs (they both go to ODU) gave Baby Thames an adorable ODU onesie. Thanks, Brandon and Tay!

On Thursday night Baby Thames and I went to my cousin Kristen’s graduation from Surgical Tech school. We were so proud of her because she was recognized as the salutatorian for her program and graduated summa cum laude! Way to go, Kristen we’re proud of you!

On Friday I was a proud mommy as I showed off my ultrasound pics to many of the teachers at my school. I know that many of them have already seen ultrasound photos like these before but I just couldn’t help it…I’m excited. I also heard from the UPS driver that delivers to our school that Eric’s been showing off the pics too!

Thanksgiving

On Wednesday night we celebrated Thanksgiving with some of Eric’s extended family on his mom’s side. On Thursday we went to my mom’s side (Aunt Cathy’s house) first, then Eric’s dad’s side (Aunt Teresa’s house) next, then my dad’s side (Aunt Loretta’s house) last. We were very busy. Aunt Cathy took my “baby bump” shot of the month. At Aunt Teresa’s we had a nice time being with Eric’s half brother, his wife, and their son. At Aunt Loretta’s we watched football and played games. It was a very nice Thanksgiving.

On the Friday morning after Thanksgiving I “woke the dead” with a very bad cramp in my leg. I had not felt a leg cramp like that since I was a child having “growing pains.” Since we (Eric, the baby and I) were all up after that incident Eric got “kicked” for the first time as he held his hand on my stomach. Once things calmed down we went back to bed and slept in for a while.

Week 20 (11/21/09 – 11/27/09)

HALFWAY WEEK!!!

I can’t believe that I am halfway through my pregnancy already.

Eric and I started out moving furniture around in our house. We cleared out the room that is to be the baby’s room. We also decided on our nursery colors, mint/silver/sage green and brown. I went to a craft show with Eric’s mom and bought a few cute baby things (a handmade bib, a pacifier clip, and a chalkboard placemat).

On Sunday I started getting a sinus cold. I felt bad for most of the week with the sniffles and sneezes. I also had bad body aches and didn’t sleep well.

The sinus cold didn’t stop Baby Thames and I though, from doing our third charitable event. On Monday night, Aunt Erlinda, Aunt Loretta, Amber, Kriss, Brandon, Taylor, Jordan, Maison, Lauren, and I all went down to the Union Mission. We stacked food for the poor and packed Thanksgiving boxes that would be sent to local needy groups in our community. We all had a wonderful time and want to go back before Christmas.

On Tuesday I had my last night of sign language class. I was so sad that the class was over because I really enjoyed it.

On Wednesday Eric and I had another doctor’s appointment and our 2nd Ultrasound. I had actually lost a pound when I was weighed but the doctor said he was not worried about it because the baby was fine. We had decided before we went in there that we were NOT going to find out what we were having. We had toiled over the decision for a long time but decided that we wanted to be surprised. I told Eric that I just felt like in your adult life you don’t really experience many good surprises. Most of the surprises are usually tragic… someone is sick, has cancer, has died, has been in an accident, is getting a divorce, etc. I just wanted to experience a good surprise and since we really don’t care if we have a boy or a girl why not wait! The ultrasound was so cool. As soon as the tech turned the ultrasound on we saw the baby yawn. We got to see all of the major organs and limbs. The tech did a good job of referring to the baby as, “kiddo” instead of he or she. The baby kept moving every time she tried to take a measurement or photo. We came to the conclusion that we already have either an active or uncooperative baby! The pictures that the tech printed out were so cute. After we left Eric and I both had the feeling that it might be a boy. I said I thought it was a boy because it had a big foot (taking after his/her dad with a size 14)! When we showed the picture to Eric’s mom she said that he/she had Eric’s face profile for sure. The element of surprise in not knowing the sex is very fun and I recommend it to everyone!

Week 19 (11/14/09 – 11/20/09)

We celebrated my cousin Adam’s 30th birthday this weekend. We started out at a Mexican restaurant for lunch and then went to his house for a birthday party. All of us Filipinos had fun watching Manny Pacquiao win the boxing match that night. Eric and Taylor (Brandon’s girlfriend) felt outnumbered as some of the only white people among all the Filipinos at the party.

On Sunday we took the kids to see the movie, A Christmas Carol, in 3-D at the IMAX. The rest of the week was quiet as Eric and I just went to work.

Week 18 (11/07/09 – 11/13/09)

Baby Thames went to Williamsburg with me and my grandparents this weekend. My Mom-Mom and Dad-Dad and I have been going to Williamsburg every fall for many years. We always stop my Dad-Dad’s alma mater, William & Mary, go to a fancy restaurant for dinner, and of course shop. We had fun except this time I tired out as easily as my 84 year old grandparents did.

This week was full of surprises. It all started with a phone call from my friend Michelle saying that she was in the hospital because her brand new baby boy (Ian Brody Anderson) had arrived. I decided once I got up and dressed that I would go and see them in the hospital. He was so adorable I just had to take pictures. This was the first time I had held a baby since being pregnant. I just can’t wait for April to get here!

After the hospital I headed down to my old college, Old Dominion University, for a speaking engagement. Each semester I go and speak about teaching to the graduate students of my former, and favorite, college professor, Dr. Kersey. We were having terrible weather this day as a Nor’easter had came upon our shore. As I drove to downtown Norfolk I had a funny feeling, even more funny than the feeling last week, in my stomach. I really thought that it might have been a “kick” but I was so concentrated on driving I didn’t think anything more of it. On the way home I felt the same feeling. At 11:19 that night as I lay down for bed I was bound-and-determined to have that feeling again. I laid flat out, very still, with my hands on my stomach and sure enough I felt, on my hand, the first “kick.” What a cool experience!

The Nor’easter hit Hampton Roads really hard that night and the next day so we were out of school both Thursday and Friday. The entire Tidewater area was flooded, including our backyard.

Week 17 (10/31/09 – 11/06/09)

This week I got my H1N1 vaccine. I was so confused about whether or not it was a good thing to do. I thought about it a lot and got a lot of opinions before I went ahead with my decision. With my line of work I figured it was probably best.

I started having “funny feelings” in my abdomen this week. I had some very minor pulls/pains in different places of my lower stomach. I guess this is the start of what was to come.

The highlight of my week was being selected as my school’s Reading Teacher of the Year. My grade level gave me a surprise luncheon to celebrate.

Halloween

Halloween weekend was fun. The family went to Aunt Erlinda’s for dinner and the kids trick-or-treated. As many of you know my dad is a ballroom dancer. He was going to a Halloween dance that night and came over dressed in his costume. Amber took my "baby bump" shot of the month. Later that night, Eric and I went to a Halloween Party at our friends, Shawn and Rachel’s house. On Sunday, I went to Aunt Loretta’s for another Halloween Tea Party.

Week 16 (10/24/09 – 10/30/09)

Baby Thames went on his/her first camping trip this weekend. On Friday Eric and I had taken off work to go camping. We left that afternoon and headed for a campsite near Crab Tree Falls in northern Virginia. We had a great time being with lots of friends. The first night we stayed in a log cabin with Matt and Kristy because by the time we got to the campsite on Friday it was dark and raining and Eric wasn’t trying to put up the tent. The log cabin was very nice and cozy. The next day was the most fun/challenging part of all. We hiked up a trail known as, “The Priest.” Everyone convinced me that I could climb the mountain without any problem. Well I did hike the mountain, but it wasn’t easy and didn’t come without many water breaks and stops to catch my breath. Eric found me a great walking stick to balance myself as I walked. The mountain was very steep and I felt like I was going to fall the whole time. When we finally reached our destination the view was beautiful. Unfortunately clouds had rolled in and it wasn’t as pretty as it could have been but we had fun anyway. The second night we stayed in our tent. I was pretty worried about being cold because I’m always cold, but the city girl that I am insisted that we have an electrical outlet at our site to plug in my electric mattress pad, electric blanket, and heater. Needless to say I was quite toasty all night. We took our time coming home the next day as we made stops along the way with friends Travis and Wendy. We first went to Crap Tree Falls, then to a place for lunch, and last to a beautiful vineyard. The weekend we picked couldn’t have been better for the changing of leaves. As we drove home, I rattled off many baby names to Eric from a book I was given. We focused mainly on boy names this time. We found a few more that we liked but still didn’t settle on anything.

For the rest of the week Eric had vacation from work. He and his dad were able to work on redoing our floors. We took up the carpet in a good majority of the house and put down wood floors. They did an awesome job and it looks great.

On Friday we had another doctor’s appointment. I’m gaining weight at a steady pace…so far so good. I still haven’t really experienced any cravings. The only thing that I sometimes want is really cold fruit. For some reason I like to open up a can of pineapple tidbits, fruit cocktail or peaches, stick it in the refrigerator until it’s really cold, and then eat it. I’m on a fruit tip right now.

Week 15 (10/17/09 – 10/23/09)

Second Trimester!!!

It’s hard to believe I am now in my second trimester and no sickness has occurred. I know that I should be very thankful for this and should just take the few weeks of nauseous ness and headaches in stride.

Baby Thames did his/her second charity event this weekend. We walked in the annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk at the oceanfront. This of course is the charitable walk that I like doing the most. I always wear a picture of my mom around my neck and think of her the whole time as I am walking.

On Sunday we had a small Halloween Tea Party with just the girls in the family at Aunt Erlinda’s. It was fun but who knows, maybe there was a boy there and we just didn’t know it. Or maybe it is a girl and she is already being raised to love tea parties!

Week 14 (10/10/09 – 10/16/09)

Not much happened this week. I had headaches again stemming from my cold the week before. Eric and I were productive in getting insurance stuff straight through his work. We had to getting paperwork in line for getting myself and the baby when he/she comes, on Eric’s insurance. I also decided that I was not going to tell the teachers at my work that I was pregnant until after I was finished with all my parent teacher conferences. I didn’t want the teachers to know yet because then the parents might find out and want to talk to me about it at their child’s conference. I kind of felt bad hiding it from some of my teacher friends because I know they are already starting to think something is up but I just didn’t want to spend all that conference time talking about me. Plus, I didn’t really want to say much to people outside the family yet until I am out of my first trimester. I will tell them as soon as conferences are over. My dear teaching assistant, Mrs. White, who I always tell that I can’t teach without her, gave me a present and nice card this week. She gave me a “Mommy-to-be” frame that I can put a picture in of myself when my stomach gets a little bigger. I just think all of the gifts and cards that people have been giving us are so very nice. I am so happy to be surrounded by kind people who think of others at special times in their lives.

Eric kissing my stomach has become a regular occasion now. I just can’t wait until the day he goes to give it a kiss and gets kicked in the mouth! I’m dying to feel the first movements.

Week 13 (10/03/09 – 10/09/09)

Baby Thames did his/her first charity event. Eric and I (and many other fellow UPSers) walked in the annual ASL walk at the oceanfront for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. My cousin Sherrie passed away because of this debilitating disease and we love to walk each year in her honor.

This week I also got my first head cold since being pregnant. I had headaches almost everyday and didn’t feel real good. I also officially noticed my stomach growing this week. One morning as I was getting ready for work I called for Eric to come into the room. He really thought I needed something and rushed in. I was so happy to show him that the outfit I had on showed off my “baby bump.” He started laughing at me and so we laughed together.

This week I had my second dream about the baby. In the first dream that I had 2 weeks ago I dreamed that I went to the doctor for a regular check up and ended up delivering the baby right there laying on the table. When the baby came out the nurse laid him/her beside me on the bed and then left the room. I felt so scared because I knew the baby was very premature but the nurse wasn’t doing anything to help us. I remember feeling very sad and worried. I wasn’t able to make out in that dream whether it was a boy or a girl. Then I woke up. In my second dream I dreamed that the baby was a boy and that I was holding him while we were at a park. I couldn’t really make out what he looked like but could tell that he was a boy. Then I woke up. Baba” (Eric’s grandmother) also said that she had a dream we were having a girl.

On Tuesday, I began my ASL (American Sign Language) class at TCC (Tidewater Community College). I have been interested in sign language ever since I was in elementary school. I have wanted to take this sign language class for some time but was never able to because it fills up so quickly. This semester I finally got into the class and will be going for 2 hours every Tuesday. I already do many signs with the students in my class at school but really want to learn more so that I can sign with my baby. Eric is glad I’m taking the class but jokes around saying that the baby and I are going to have a secret language between the two of us that he doesn’t know. I told him that he had better learn some of the basic signs too so that he can communicate with the baby when I’m not home!

I also officially started creating my blog this week. I am excited to have a place to keep and share lasting memories!

Week 12 (9/26/09 – 10/02/09)

This weekend Baby Thames went to Busch Gardens. We wanted to get use out of our Season Passes one more time before it closed. The only rides Baby Thames and I went on were the swings and sky ride. That was perfectly okay with me because I’m not a big ride person anyway. We had fun riding the sky ride several times with Lauren…instead of walking the park.

At church on Sunday, Eric had an adventure chasing a little Autistic boy all around the streets of P-town. You see our church is on High St. in downtown Portsmouth and we were standing outside after mass talking with some friends. All of a sudden this boy runs from around the corner right in front of us. Minutes later a lady runs by and asks for our help in catching the boy. Eric ran after him to try to get him and ended up running for several blocks. Luckily the police were able to get him as Eric and some other patrons cornered him. He was an Autistic boy who had been upset by something at his church around the corner and just darted out the doors and began running. Needless to say we were all happy that the boy was safe even if Eric had to get a full workout in his “Sunday best.” Later that night I ran a few names passed Eric to get his opinion…we still haven’t decided on anything yet.

On Friday we had another doctor’s appointment and then later celebrated Aunt Loretta and Brandon’s birthdays at Waterman’s. Everything at the doctor checked out good!

Week 11 (9/19/09 – 9/25/09)

This weekend we attended my little cousin, Walter’s birthday and Eric’s cousin, Stephanie’s wedding. We had a nice time sharing our news with some of Eric’s family that we don’t see real often. Everyone was very excited. After the wedding, I took my first “baby bump” photo. I’m trying to take at least one stomach shot a month. I hope I can keep up with that goal and not forget.

I got a very exciting phone call this week from one of my dear friends, Michelle. She was so happy to tell me that she is going to be adopting. This was the best news ever for her and I was ecstatic. I then told her what my good news was and she was happy too. We would both be mommies very soon! We decided that we needed to celebrate so we went to see the movie, “Fame” on Friday night. You see Michelle and I became friends because we went to the same dance school since we were young. One year we danced a jazz routine to the song “Fame” so of course we had to go see the movie!

Week 10 (9/12/09 – 9/18/09)

Over the weekend Eric went out of town with his dad and his brother. I went and visited my best friend, Amanda, to tell her the news. When I got there I told her that I had something to tell her and of course she knew what I was going to say before I even said it! I told her that she couldn’t wait too long to have a baby of her own so that our babies could grow up together like we did (we’ve been best friends since the 3rd grade).

It was another long week at school. The highlight of school was our Field Trip to Farm Days at Chesapeake City Park. The coolest part of the trip was that the person who heads up the whole thing is my cousin, Roy. I got to see both him and Jeannie (his wife). My students and I had a great time. Later that night, my friend and neighbor Penny came over with her son Tristan. Our husbands were playing poker in the garage and we were hanging out inside. Her husband, DJ and their roommate Bud have a $20.00 bet going on of which one thinks we’re having a boy/girl. They have a long way to wait to see who wins the bet!

Week 9 (9/05/09 – 9/11/09)

For Labor Day weekend we decided to stay in town. We had been invited to go to Hatteras but decided that since I was starting school it would be best if we stayed home. We had a cookout at Aunt Erlinda’s on Sunday which was fun. We swam, played games, and ate. The family decided that I needed to get on the ball with picking out names so they tried to help me. We started out trying to come up with girl names. Brandon (my cousin) got on the internet from his iphone and was searching girl names that started with an “A.” We didn’t have much luck.. only a few good ones in the whole list. I am much better at knowing the names that I don’t want than the names that I do want. I already know that I don’t want the names of any students that I’ve taught so that rules out at least 175 names. We didn’t get very far with the name picking that day.

On Sunday we went and visited our friends Kenny and Janine. Baby Thames (this is what we are officially calling the baby for the next 8 months) got his/her first present from them, an adorable “Ed Hardy” onesie.

The first week of school was rough. My energy level was way down and I was tired. I was also given a very challenging group of first graders this year. My few colleagues that knew I was pregnant did come and check on me a lot which was very nice. I had to get used to our lunch schedule of eating at 10:30 in the morning. I was happy when the week was over.

Week 8 (8/29/09 – 9/04/09)

Well teachers started back to school this week. I was again tired, somewhat nauseous, and had low motivation this week. I wanted to be excited about starting back to school but was a little nervous about my new life changing experiences that were happening. I decided to tell just a few people at work my news about being pregnant. I wanted to tell two of my close teachers on the grade level and my teaching assistant just in case I needed their assistance at any time. I was wondering how pregnancy and teaching were going to work together.

The best part of the week was Friday, the 4th when Eric and I were able to have our first ultrasound. The doctor visit was amazing. I did get a little teary-eyed when I first saw the little “kidney bean” on the screen. It’s was unbelievable to think about a little one growing inside of me. Eric and I both just stared at the screen as the tech described everything that was going on. We got a good report to take home and share with family. Eric, being the proud dad that he was, took the ultrasound picture with him to show off at work. What a good dad he is already! The first question everyone asked was were we going to find out what we were having. I told them all the same thing, “we don’t know yet.”

Week 7 (8/22/09 – 8/28/09)

On the Saturday after we got back I went down (Sandbridge-where they live) to my grandparent’s house. I hadn’t told anyone on my mom’s side of the family because my grandparents had been out of town the same week as us. I was so excited to tell my grandparents the news that I blurted it out as soon as I walked through the door. They were both very happy and of course my grandfather had a tear in his eye. After that I called my Aunt Cathy and talked to both her and my cousin, Kristen. My grandfather also let my Uncle Brad know when he called in that day. I felt so good leaving their house because now all my closest family knew.

This was also the week before I was to go back to school. The first part of the week was spent setting up my classroom. I recruited my family to help me set up so I wouldn’t have so much lifting and moving to do on my own. Jordon, Maison, and Lauren went with me and helped me get the classroom ready for my new first graders. My dad also stopped over to help move the big furniture. I also told my boss this week that I would be expecting in April. I figured I had better tell him early on in the year.

The rest of the week was spent resting. I was very tired this week and felt nauseous on and off for most of the day. Luckily I never got sick but sure felt like I wanted to rest a lot. I used time to begin reading some Week by Week books that I had been given about pregnancy. I wanted to get as much rest in as I could this week before I headed back to work.

At the end of the week we celebrated a friend’s 30th birthday. We went to dinner with Kenny and Janine and then went out. I was leery about going to the club because I didn’t want to be around any smoke. Luckily the place we went to on Granby St. had an outside patio that we stayed at the whole time. I was able to breathe in safe air as we enjoyed the party!

The Airport

We were headed home from Vegas on Friday night and my dad was to pick us up at the airport. As we came down the hall I could see my dad at the end of the gate. I greeted him with a hug as we continued to walk a few steps toward the escalator. Just then my family jumped out from behind the wall and yelled, “surprise.” They were all holding pink and blue balloons that had messages written on them and a white teddy bear. Eric and I were so surprised to see them. I teared up a little with excitement as they all began to hug us and tell us how excited they were. What a great surprise that I will always remember. I thought for sure they were doing it to be nice but all along they really wanted to get me back for surprising them the way I did with the kids telling them the news!