Rebecca's Showerette

On August 2nd I drove out to Palm Springs for one of my good friend's bachelorette party and bridal shower. I took this photo with my little man before I left. Isn't he just the cutest?! He has been such a handful lately and I'm looking forward to a little break, but I still love the little stinker with all my heart and I know I'll miss him while I'm gone. 

On the drive out, I suddenly found myself in a huge downpour! It was crazy! Cars were spinning out and crashing all over the place and at one point I could only see the car directly in front of me. It was very stressful and not at all what I expected in August in Palm Springs! Thankfully, Rebecca's bridal shower had been re-located to a room from the pool. We ate, chatted and watched Rebecca open gifts. It was a very nice, low key shower. 

After the shower, we all went and changed for the pool. We hung out at the pool for a while. It was actually really crowded despite the strange weather.

That night we went out to dinner, then went to the Hard Rock Hotel for Rebecca's bachelorette. Even though I couldn't drink, I still had fun dancing a bit and watching Rebecca have an absolutely wonderful time. Everyone kept saying, just let us know when you are ready to leave and we can go, but I was totally fine. I was feeling great and having lots of fun. 

When we got home, our room keys didn't work. Rachael immediately said I must have accidentally de-activated them, but as soon as someone came with a universal key and couldn't get it open I knew that wasn't the case. Apparently the battery had died and it was going to be a bit of a process to get us into our room. Leslie bailed and crashed in the other room and the maintenance guy brought us chairs so Tera and I hung out in the hallway for a good hour waiting. Once they finally got us into our room, they still had to fix the door. After another hour, they finally said they would just fix it in the morning. We were exhausted at that point and still hanging out in our dresses. It was so nice to finally change into pjs and crawl into the giant bed. I was sort of hoping to have a relaxing, early night while away from my mom duties, but it was somewhat funny and I guess makes for an interesting story. 

The next morning, we had lunch in Rebecca's suite (the room the shower was in) before we all took off for home. It was a quick trip, but it was fun to spend time with my sorority sisters. It was also nice to celebrate Rebecca, especially since I'm not sure I will be able to make it to her wedding.

34 Weeks

On July 30th I hit the 34 week mark. I still weigh 160 so no weight gain since last week. I have been having some contractions and cramping, but nothing very strong or in any sort of pattern so they are obviously Braxton Hicks contractions. I have been having bad pelvic pain for a few weeks, but its gotten worse this past week. I sort of hobble after I've been sitting for a while. I've also had bad back/sciatic pain that reached an all time high this week. It has been shooting all the way down my leg. The baby is still hanging out on my left side and lately has his head in my left hip. He also bulges out a lot on that side as if he is trying to escape. I had a Dr. Nelson appointment this week and everything was good.

Insight 4D Ultrasound-Round 2

On July 27th, we went back to Insight Ultrasounds for our make-up ultrasound. My mom and Sabrina came along this time. The ultrasound tech felt like the baby wasn't cooperating again and offered for us to come back once more, but I was more than happy with the ultrasound and thought we got a lot of great looks at our baby boy. At one point she even said he had both hands and a foot in front of his face! I just love watching him move around in there. Based on all the ultrasounds we have had so far, I think this little guy is going to look a lot like his big brother! Seeing him made me excited to meet him! 

Baby Sprinkle

On July 26th, Sabrina, Rachelle and my mom hosted a wonderful Sprinkle for me and the new baby. It was absolutely perfect! They had adorable advice cards for Hudson and Wishes for the Baby. The cake was stunning and tasted delicious too. The food was amazing, the favors were too cute and best of all were all the wonderful people who came. I know it can be frowned upon to have a shower for any child other than your first, especially when they are close in age or the same gender, but my group of family and friends always made me feel that every baby and every pregnancy deserves to be celebrated. They made the baby and I feel so loved and so special! It was really touching and such a wonderful day!! Thank you so much to all my friends and family for showering us with so much love, support and generosity. It is so nice to know just how loved this little boy already is!!

Kid Co Play Date

On July 23rd, Hudson and I met my friend Amy and her two daughters, Jayla and Autumn and Kid Co Play Place in Santa Clarita. It was our first time there and it was a lot of fun. They had a large room full of lots of toys including two roller coasters, they had a mechanic shop, a grocery store, a restaurant, a house and a few other fun pretend play rooms. Jayla and Hudson were so cute together! They pushed their babies around, worked the cash registers at the market and raced each other down the roller coasters. At one point Hudson was grilling up some food on the BBQ while Jayla sat in a chair enjoying a cocktail. We were laughing so hard that we didn't get a picture before they noticed us and moved. Then they went on a date together. Hudson poured them drinks and they sat and enjoyed their cake together. It was seriously one of the cutest things I have ever seen. We will definitely have to come here again and plan more play dates with Jayla because she and Hud played so nicely together. 

33 Weeks

On July 23rd, I hit the 33 week mark. I weigh 160 now so I've gained a total of 36 pounds!! Yikes! This little guy total prefers my left side and I usually look lopsided and have big bulges on that side. He is constantly pushing as if he is trying to escape out of the left side of my stomach. He seems to be way more active than I ever remember Hudson being.

23 Months

On July 22nd, Hudson turned 23 months old. He weighs about 27.8 pounds and is around 35 inches tall. Hudson really likes to point out what is his and what is someone else's. For example, he will say Dino's blankie (Dino is his baby~we got it for him so he could practice his big brother skills) and Hud's blankie. Dada's ball and Hud's ball. He is also really into big and little. Big rock, little rock, big bite, little bite. Big boy vs little boy is another new favorite. He usually tells us he is a big boy, but when he freaked out about walking in the sand at the beach he decided that he was a baby after all. Hudson has been doing really well at his swim lessons. He is getting better at back floats, he got rings from the third and fourth step down this month and swam to the wall on his own after jumping off the blue mat at a few different lessons. About half way through the month, he started acting up quite a bit. He has been spending a lot of time in time out. I'm not sure if this is an early "terrible twos" thing or if this is a "I sense that a big change is coming" thing. Maybe it is a bit of both. Uncle Ty taught Hudson how to give real hugs so now he puts his arms around us and gives us great big cuddly hugs. He continues to surprise us with random words that he knows like skateboard.His communication skills are really improving as well. He was able to tell Jenn his chips were on the top shelf. He is growing and learning every day and continually impresses us! We just adore this little guy, temper tantrums and all!

Date Night

On July 19th, Aubree babysat Hudson so Nic and I could go out for a date night. We went out to dinner then saw 22 Jump Street. It was a really funny movie and was just so nice to get out and be adults for a change. Nic thinks the last time he went to the theater was to see the Hangover 2!! It was nice to have a relaxing evening like that since we probably won't have many once the new little one arrives.

Bell Dinner

On July 17th, Hudson, Nic and I went over the the Bell's house for dinner. We brought over chicken tacos, Spanish rice and corn casserole. We had fun eating dinner together and taking photos in Ruby's nursery. Hudson is really sweet with Ruby and doesn't mind at all when I hold her. I'm hoping those are good signs and the transition to big brother won't be too hard on him. 

32 Weeks

On July 16th I hit the 32 week mark. I now weigh 158.4 pounds (34.4 pounds total weight gain). I had a doctor appointment this week and an ultrasound. The baby weighs approximately 4 1/2 pounds and is measuring only slightly bigger than he should. Everything looked good too: cervix, fluid levels, baby's heart, etc) and he is head down so that was good to hear! :) Hudson was so good during the appointment. He sat next to me on the table and the baby had his head turned towards his big brother. I also had some slight cramping today, but otherwise everything is great! :) 

Skin Test

On July 14th, Hudson had an allergy appointment to get a skin test done. I insisted that Nic come with me because Hudson has to stay still for 20 minutes while his back flares up and I just didn't want to have deal with that pregnant by myself. Last time I was supposed to keep him on his stomach as much as possible so I flew him around the room and was exhausted by the end of it. Plus I missed half of the information because I was trying to take care of Hud while the doctor was discussing the findings with me. Having Nic there this time made the process much smoother. Plus our new allergy doctor let Hudson sit for the 20 minutes so that helped too. Now that Hudson is so into watching iphone movies, I just showed him movies while Nic held him. The results were actually better than they had been in the past. He was still allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat and sesame, but none of them were bad enough to make the doctor want to postpone conducting food challenges so that was good news. :)

Beach and Visiting Grandma

On July 13th, Hudson and Katrina spent the morning playing together. I think they look like twins! Such little cuties and they have so much fun together and really love each other!! 

Then we grabbed breakfast and went to the beach. Hudson was being funny about the sand again, but once he was playing on the big rock and jumping off, he forgot momentarily about his sand phobia. 

His fear quickly returned though when we all went into the water. He again loved splashing in the waves, but did not want to be set down. 

We tricked him again by swinging him. Then we had him run towards the water, into my arms and I would swing him around. Since he was having so much fun he forgot again about his hatred of the sand. Hopefully we can continue to help him get over this. He had such a great time and even despite the sand issue he was begging to go back to the beach as soon as we left. 

On our way home, we decided to make a quick stop to visit Grandma Annabelle. She was so happy to see us. She even had a present for Hud. A bucket, shovel and book about the sea that he loved!!

Carlie's Shower

On July 12th, we drove down to San Diego for Carlie's baby shower. We dropped Hudson off with Aunt Susannah on the way. It was so nice of her to watch Hudson and it was great that he was able to spend some time with his cousin Katrina. 

We had a fun time at the BBQ. We spent time with Sheri, Chuck, Chrissy, Miri, Kristine (who is also expecting a little girl in August), Dan and his parents. After the shower, we stayed the night at Aunt Susannah's. I can't wait to meet baby Rochelle. Rochelle and baby Campbell will be very close in age, which will be fun. 

RIP Stephanie

On July 11th, I got a call from my mom on the way to the car dealership telling me that my step-grandma, Stephanie, had passed away. We found out she had cancer on April Fool's Day and her diagnosis wasn't very good. We also knew earlier in the week that she probably wasn't going to make it much longer, but when you get that call, no matter how much you prepare for it, it is still so difficult. Of all my grandparents, I can't believe Stephanie was the first to go. She has always felt more like an Aunt to me because of her young, vibrant spirit and up until the shocking cancer diagnosis, she was by far the healthiest. She was such a bright light in my childhood and taught us so much about how important art and creativity are. She loved us as if we were her own grand kids and always made a huge effort to spend time with us. I feel awful that I haven't seen her much in the past few years and the times I did, I regret not taking a photo with her (which is so unlike me). Thankfully, my mom was in Maui and had visited her a few days earlier. She delivered messages from all of us kids and it made her smile, so I at least got to say by to her in a way. I will miss her terribly, but will always keep the memories I have with her close to my heart. 

Car Problems

On our way to dinner on July 10th, I couldn't seem to figure out how to get the air to work for the backseat. I spent some time messing around with it and reading the manual on July 11th with no luck so I called the dealership. After they talked me through a bunch of instructions, I decided I need to bring the car in to check the rear air. Air was blasting out of the foot vents, but no air was coming out of any of the upper vents. I piled poor Hud into the car (shortly before his nap time) and off we went. I was hoping it would be a simple fix, but just as I suspected the rear air was in fact broken. We hung out in the kid room while they worked on the car. The mechanic came in a while later, told me it was fixed, and said I was good to go. I asked him for paperwork and he said I didn't need any because the fix was no big deal. I already didn't like the idea that my 2 day old car had issues, but this especially didn't sit well with me. Luckily my sales rep and the sales manager also seemed concerned and came out with me to make sure everything was working properly. It turned out that now the air was coming out of the top vents, but nothing was coming out of the foot vents. The sales manager tried to tell me that it isn't supposed to at first, but then he said he wasn't sure and would feel better if their top technician double checked. So back we went to the kid play room. A while later, the manager came and told me that it was in fact still broken. The first technician had simply switched the air from one vent to the other, but didn't actually fix the problem. I was starting to really worry and was debating whether I should return the car (they have a 2 day return policy). They said if they had another of the same car they would swap it out for me, but I knew there were no other ones available. Then about 5 of the top employees came into the kid room to talk with me. I was so annoyed and over everything at that point. I explained my concern with my car being a lemon, I explained my frustration with the fact that I was pregnant with a 2 year old spending my Friday at the car dealership for a brand new car, I told them I had never had issues with my last 2 cars and I never had issues only days after getting the car, I told them that the fact that their mechanic didn't actually fix the car, but told me he did and refused to give me proper paperwork made me feel very uncomfortable with their dealership, then I told them that I wanted a ride home (at this point poor Hudson was on the ground trying to sleep and it was 2pm and I hadn't had lunch), I wanted my car fixed and dropped off at my house by the end of the day, or I would be returning it and buying a Toyota Highlander instead. They apologized and agreed and after a few hours of sitting at the dealership we were in the van on our way home. I got a call a few hours later saying the car had been fixed. I requested that I have my return option extended over the weekend in case anything else went wrong and they agreed. The sales manager and general manager delivered my car with a "gift" for my patience. It was a Honda license plate! Seriously? After all that you offer me a license plate? I politely declined and am hoping that I don't have any more issues with my new car. 

New Car

We have been car shopping since January. We have probably looked at, sat in or placed our car seats in about 20 different cars. We are obviously not impulse buyers and whenever we make a big investment we always take our time. My car was really falling apart and we have the baby's arrival quickly approaching so we new we needed to make a decision. We had narrowed our choice down to the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander. Although we really liked the Highlander, we ultimately decided on the Pilot because it's roomier, has a bigger trunk and had tons more options for car seat placement. We went to buy the car on July 6th after our day at the beach, but they didn't have the car we wanted. They ended up locating one, but we had to wait for the dealership to drive it up to Valencia. I was out of gas on the 6th, but didn't want to fill up right before trading the car in so I didn't. By Wednesday, July 9th, I told Nic I was going to just put a bit of gas in the car to be safe. After Gymboree, Hudson and I ran a few errands. They of course took forever and only a few minutes into our drive, Hudson fell asleep. I drove past the gas station and decided not to stop. I figured I just needed to make it home then to the dealership that night. I totally forgot that I was also delivering a meal to a mom's club member who just had a baby. Hud and I made it to her house and back no problem. When Nic got home, we all hopped into the car and took off for the dealership. As soon as we passed our local gas station, the car died! The steering started to lock up and the battery light came on. Nic was able to get over all 3 lanes and turn off the main road. We were both nervous and crossing our fingers that the only issue was running out of gas because the last thing we wanted to do was put more money into the car. Poor Nic had to walk back up to the gas station and get some gas in the boiling heat with his work clothes on.I wish I had taken a picture of him filling the car up. It was really funny, but at the time, we were more nervous than anything. Luckily, the issue was just running out of gas. Whew! 

When we arrived at Honda I figured it would be quick since we had already negotiated a price and new the exact car we were getting, but it took forever! I had to fill out tons of paperwork, Nic checked out the car and took it for a test drive, then he tried to get them to lower the price more while I chased Hud around in circles. He did get them to lower the price more, but then we had to wait forever to see the finance guy. The actually went and bought us dinner from Baja Fresh because it was so late and we hadn't eaten. When it was all said and done, it was around 9pm. We were all exhausted, but excited about our new car. Hudson calls it the big car and likes it way better than my jetta. I was a little sad to say bye to my jetta, but I love my pilot. 

31 Weeks

On July 9th, I completed 31 weeks of pregnancy. I now weigh 156.6 (32.6 pounds of total weight gain). I have been having occasional insomnia and I still have bad heartburn, but otherwise I'm still feeling good. 

Beach Day

On July 6th, we took Hudson to the beach. We were going to go to some kid friendly beach, but it was so protected that it was more like a lake, so we went to the nearest beach instead. It was right in the flight path of planes leaving LAX, which Hudson loved! He loved playing with his toys in the sand, but to our surprise he freaked out about standing in the sand. Hudson has always loved the beach and sand so we were quite surprised. It wasn't something he quickly got over either, he was freaked out and made every possible attempt not to stand in the sand the entire time. He is such a funny kid, because he loved the water, he loved splashing in it and liked it when Nic kept putting him down head first to splash the water then pull him up as waves came in. I would think having your face so close to crashing waves would be far more terrifying than some sand, but Hudson loved it! Despite the sand fear, we had a great day and Hudson kept asking to go back as soon as we left so the sand thing apparently didn't bother him enough to not enjoy his day either. 

4th of July

On July 4th, Nic and I took Hudson to the Acton 4th of July parade. I was bummed we missed it last year and knew he would enjoy it so I insisted this year. It was a blast. Hudson really liked it and I ran into a bunch of friends, including one of my best friends from elementary school and junior high, Brittany Watson (Dunn). 

After the parade, we went home and had a delicious lunch.I made firecracker burgers, grilled veggies and we had some desserts. That afternoon, we went to the Elliot's house for a BBQ. Jack and Jemma are friends of ours from our Labor of Love classes, there daughter Kaia is just a bit younger than Hudson. Our other friends from the class Jessica, Jordan and Sage were also there. Hudson, Kaia, and Sage had a great time playing together. 

After the BBQ, we went to the Valencia mall to watch the fireworks. We went last year and had such a great time so we thought it would be fun to go again. Hudson was a bit scared when the fireworks first started, but then he ended up loving it. Every time I firework exploded he shouted bam, bam. It made everyone around us smile and after the show a few people told me how cute and well behaved he was. I tried to video, but it was so dark that you couldn't see Hudson or Nic. I thought I got a video of the finale which was bright enough to light up their faces, but something weird happened and it didn't record. Oh well, the memory of their smiling faces enjoying the fireworks will be something I always remember. I love making memories like this with my family!

30 Weeks

On July 2nd, I finished my 30th week. I didn't weigh myself this week so I don't know how much I've gained. I have started having occasional contractions. I am so interested to see what will happen this time when I let my body prepare with all the practice contractions instead of having to take medicine to stop everything. 

Insight Ultrasound

On June 29th, Nic, Hudson and I went to Insight Ultrasound for a 3D ultrasound of the baby. Just like his big brother, the baby wasn't cooperative. He had his hand up just like Hud always did in ultrasounds, but he was even more shy and we really struggled to get good images. The place let us schedule a make-up appointment so hopefully the next one will go better. Even without getting too many glimpses of my new little man, I still loved every second of it. He is such a little cutie who looks exactly like Hudson to me. It makes me excited to meet this little one!

Cameron's Wedding

On June 28th, we went to our cousin Cameron's wedding. It was in Temecula, at a beautiful location and was a lot of fun. It was nice to see some of our family members and it was really fun to spend time with my siblings and parents. We all had a wonderful evening and we wish Cameron and Corrina a lifetime of happiness. 

29 Weeks

On June 25th I hit the 29 week mark. I now weigh 153.2 pounds. Finally a week without gaining a lot, haha. I had a Dr. Nelson appointment this week and everything was good with the baby. Dr. Nelson wants me to have an ultrasound next appointment just to make sure everything is going well. Other than that, this week has been very uneventful. 

Disneyland and Pool

On June 22nd, we went to Disneyland. It was the last day we could use our passes before we were blocked out for the summer and right when they are good again, they expire. We figured it was most likely our last Disneyland trip as our family of 3. We had such a fun time at Disneyland together. We went on Dumbo, Mr. Toads, Teacups and got in line for Pirates, but it broke down just before we got on. 

From there, we went over to California Adventure to ride the Little Mermaid then meet up with Ashley, Andre and Avery. We took the kids to watch the Goofy water show were World of Color happens. Hudson is obsessed with water jumping so he of course loved it! Then we went on The Little Mermaid Ride again then took the kids to some camp play area. They had fun splashing in a little stream while Ashley and I caught up. It was such a fun day and the perfect way to end our amazing year at Disneyland. 

When we got home that afternoon, we took Hud up to the pool. He had so much fun! He was jumping in and wall walking all the way around the edges (even trying to go into the deep end). He was diving for his rings and just having a grand time. I just love days like these!! They make my heart so happy!

22 Months

On June 22nd, Hudson turned 22 months old. Hudson weighs around 25.4 pounds. Hudson had hand, foot, mouth disease. We thought he had a rash on his feet from wearing his water shoes, especially since he had no fever, but our allergy doctor took one look at it and knew it was hand, foot, mouth. It had been going around so it made sense. Seeing as we didn't even know he had it, it obviously wasn't too bad. Hudson can identify a lot of colors: black, pink, red, green, blue, yellow and orange. He says 4 word sentences now such as "Jenn more ball pit" and "Dada more balloon please" He also says Australia and loves to sing. His favorite songs are: In Summer (Olaf's song from Frozen), Let it Go, Pirates Life for Me (he sings yo ho pirates life for me and claps twice), Creepin by Eric Church and rock a bye baby. Hudson is such a character and he cracks me up!! I'm so glad I got a picture of his "angry face" I just love him so much!

Mom's Club BBQ

On June 21st, I invited the families from my mom's club over for a BBQ. Hudson was very excited to help dada clean that morning. ;) We had a really great turn out and all the kids played so nicely together. It was a really fun afternoon. 

28 Weeks

On June 18th, I finished week 28. I weigh 153 pounds (29 pounds total weight gain). I have had really bad heartburn this pregnancy. It is way worse than I ever remember with Hudson. Other than that, not much to report.

Kings Parade and Rally

On June 16th, my mom, Debbie, Sabrina, Hudson and I went to the Kings parade and rally. The streets were jam packed which made me nervous being preggers and we definitely weren't going to be able to see the parade very well, so Sabrina suggested we call our account rep just to see if she could help us out. She ended up getting us tickets to the viewing area right in front of Staples. It wasn't crowded at all and we had a perfect view! Hudson was so cute! He kept cheering and waving his blankie! I even spotted us on the news! haha.

After the parade, we went into Staples Center to do some shopping and to watch the rally. It was great! One of the best parts was when Darryl Sutter asked Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown which ring is their favorite. They answered in unison, the next one! ;) Everyone was cheering so loud and Hudson wanted in on the action so he kept doing this extremely loud scream thing. Of course when we told him to stop, he took that to mean do it more. Thankfully, it was so loud in there that it didn't bother most people. Hud was very overtired and was such a trooper through the whole event.

One of my favorite parts was a video they showed that highlighted all the records the Kings had accomplished that year:
* 4th team in NHL history to come back from 0-3 down in a series
* 1st NHL team to win Game 7's in first 3 rounds on the road
* A perfect 7-0 record in elimination games
* 1st NHL team to win 3 consecutive games trailing by 2 goals
* NHL record 64 playoff games played in last 3 years
* NHL record 26 playoff games played

After the rally, Hud took a well deserved nap in the car, then we went to Gourmet 88 for lunch. It was a really fun day and I'm glad I was able to attend the celebration this year (last time we won the cup I had to miss the parade and rally because of all the contractions I was having).