34 weeks and counting

I continue to grow bigger and bigger...i am up 48lbs and measuring 33" at last week's doctor appointment. She claims all is well and that all those people that keep asking if my due date is wrong or if i am having twins are subject to what she calls the "fat-ass factor". She said cuz i am/was thin when i got pregnant there is no where for me to hide the weight gain...unlike people/fat asses apparently who were already overweight when they got pregnant. I like to believe her but dang my belly is huge!

Catching Up

Yes, we've been very lax with the blog. Wow, it's been over a month, sorry about that. We're looking for a new used car at the moment, so that's been taking up a lot of the evening computer time. We need to replace the Ford Ranger pickup, since there is no way to transport a wee one in it. We're looking for some kind of wagon with a hatchback, maybe a Volvo or Subaru. We need room for mom, dad, huevo and Lucy!

We went up to stay with my college buddy (and best man) Paul Custodio and his family in Seattle the weekend before last. We were looking forward to seeing them and relaxing in their beautiful backyard, they were looking forward to seeing Lucy. It was great to hang with them and our other college buddy TIm. The Custodios generously gifted us a ton of baby clothes. We went out for a nice dinner with the whole group: Paul, Geri, Pete, Heather, Christina and TIm.

Another thing that has kept us from blogging is our new pool. Heather's feet have been painfully swollen and it helps tremendously to spend time in the water. She found a great deal for inflatable 15' pool. We got the pool, the ladder, filter, skimmer, vacuum, everything for 150 bucks. It doesn't even make sense, how cheap it was. We set up at the beginning of August and have been enjoying it almost every day, except for the last week when the weather has been so crappy.

Can't believe it's already the end of August. September is already looking busy, Next week we'll celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary (September 2nd). The following weekend football season starts - oh, and we're having a baby shower. Our friends Ned and Megan Folkerth have been doing the planning for it. More on that later.

Around the third week in September our friends Pete and Nina will be visiting from New Orleans. And at the end of the month I'll be turning 44. I also have 3 concerts this month, The Raconteurs, Nick Cave and My Morning Jacket. Better get them in now while I can, right?

And Heather's getting larger...

I am 27 weeks now and had a doctor visit this week. Despite the rumors of twins or wrong due dates...I am in fact only having one little girl and my due date is still October 11th. I am just a Big Mama! I gained over 35lbs so far and my tummy (uterus) measured 24" last month and this month I was up to 31". At least the growth spurt that I thought I had wasn't a delusion.

My back and feet remain a source of aches and pains but overall I am feeling pretty darn good. Mr Best is doing more picking things up off the ground for me and I'm getting an occasional foot or back massage so that always helps.

Yard of Dreams

With barely time to catch our breaths, we had another parental visit last weekend. Heather's mom Arlene and her boyfriend Mike came out for a working vacation. We had a great time with them, though it probably wasn't very relaxing for them. We did have a couple of great meals out on the town, though. The picture above is from Salty's on the Coluumbia. Arlene also treated us to her favorite Portland treat - bone-in filet mignons at the Ringside. Mmm-mmm. We all four got them and it was quite a treat - especially for me, who ate all the leftovers the next day.

Arlene and Mike came prepared with a chainsaw, gardening catalogs and lots of good ideas to help us beautify our lame backyard. On Sunday I helped Mike cut down the nasty pear tree that was making us miserable every summer.

I hate to cut down a tree, but it dumped so many pears in the yard at the end of the summer that it was a major hassle every day to go out and pick up the rotten pears. We tried to eat the pears, but they just weren't that good. And it was pretty sickly anyway. We plan to replace it with a nice maple or really any non-fruit-bearing tree. 

Mike and I cut down the tree on the Sunday while Heather and Arlene worked on the garden. Surprisingly, the whole thing went smoothly. No chainsaw accidents, no limbs falling in neighbor's yards, no tree falling on roofs. Ironically, I did injure myself  - not with the chainsaw or dropping branches, but when I was dumping a load of brush at the composting center. I was tugging a thick branch which suddenly popped free, and I basically hit myself very hard in the face. The result: one hell of a shiner...

We cut off most of the branches, but as the day was coming to a close we decided to just go for it and cut the sucker down, even though it was still pretty tall. For the final cut we tied the trunk to the back of the pickup. Heather gave it gas while Mike made the last precise cuts and it fell perfectly in the middle of the yard. Cue applause from the neighbor's yard, who had been watching the whole process.

I had to go back to work on Sunday, but they kept at it all day Monday and Tuesday. As you can see below, it turned out wonderfully. The ladies really did a great job and Arlene wowed us with the layout of the plants. My one contribution was the idea of keeping the tree trunk there and hanging plants off of it. Plus, the top was perfect for the birdhouse they made for us. The yard looks really beautiful, especially when we light the tiki torches and candles at night. Thanks, you guys!


Oh, and the ladies also did some work on the baby room, painting blue sky and clouds on the ceiling, Heather's back is pretty sore from all the work, so we are taking it easy this weekend. Besides it hit 106 degrees yesterday, so we had to bust out the kddie pool...

First Father's Day with Mom and Momlette

Mama Best came out this past weekend and we had a great time. The weather cleared up and it was just gorge-ous, as you can see from the picture above. We took Friday off for a day trip to Hood River. We had a cookout with some friends on Saturday and went out to dinner a few times. On Father's Day the ladies took me out to Ciao Vito, one of our neighborhood favorites. I got some excellent bike gear and a nice card from Momlette. All in all, a pretty good Father's Day dry run...

Week 23

The Momlette is just finishing up week 23. Huevo is pretty active these days. I've been able to feel her kick a few times. Last night, just as I fell asleep, I had my hand on Heather's belly and I felt a couple kicks. It was a great to feel Huevo moving as I drifted off to sleep...

Just for kicks...

I finally felt a kick the other day for the first time. I was having acupuncture and i think she started doing back flips b/c i could see her moving around. i still mainly only feel it when i lay down but look forward to more of her acrobatics as i get bigger and bigger.