Things here have been as crazy as usual - and in some ways, crazier! The first weekend in June we drove into Thousand Oaks, California for T's grandfather's wedding as well as some (not enough) beach time with the family.
First, we met up with T's cousin Ami and her boyfriend Ben for dinner - I'd never met them before, and they're wonderful! I just wish we lived closer so we could hang out.
Both Grandpa and his new bride are widows (widowers?), and they are very sweet together. It was lovely of them to invite us to come for their big day.
Me and T at the reception
Following the reception, we drove down to the beach town we were married in, Laguna Beach. We took an awesome picture of T with her iPhone, but the iPhone sadly got left at the in-laws house tonight so you all are going to have to wait to see the great Laguna Beach lifeguard tower photo.
We spent a few hours wandering around our favorite haunts, including our very favorite shop, Art for the Soul. Bought a couple of greeting cards there and were shooed out the door at closing time. We got some gelato and sat on the boardwalk, freezing our butts off and loving every moment of the chilly salt air that blew through our thin Arizona clothes. We'd hoped to have dinner in our new favorite cafe, but it was an hour and a half wait to eat so we decided to hightail it outta there and head to our hotel in nearby Dana Point, where T's family all were.
We picked up some dinner from the hotel restaurant and enjoyed an evening together with my brother and sister-in-law and our nephew Erik, my out-laws, and our littlest nephew Jon.
The next morning (after eating breakfast at a doughnut shop, of all places) we headed to the beach in Dana Point. T and I dug out an area for her to sit in the sand and began building some sand castles.
After spending a few hours together on the beach (T's siblings and their kids were there, too!) it was time to leave. We headed back home to Tucson. A few hours into the drive, I noticed my face was starting to feel tight. I thought to myself, "Yes, I must've gotten a little sunburned. Oh well."
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Not just a little sunburned. A LOT sunburned. I had been wearing my sunglasses most of the time and so I had the supremely cool "raccoon" sunburn going on. Not to mention where my pants had been rolled up - my shins and the top of my feet fried. So did T's, as well as my very unfortunate mother-in-law, who received the worst of it by far. She had sausage legs and feet for several days and is still recovering, over a week later. My father-in-law had minimal leg burning, T got a bit of a burn on her face as well but it was not as rockin' as mine. It is a really good thing I don't have a customer service job, haha. I was frightening there for a few days.
Both on the drive to and fro, I continually was full of gladness. I'm so fortunate to have someone who never is boring, someone who I never get tired of or need time away from, someone who laughs at my goofy jokes and humors me when I have crazy ideas for intricate photos. Someone who understands what I need, someone who I can take care of and love on. Someone who also wants to take care of me and be with me. I recognize that these are all great qualities in your life partner, but I also see that not everybody has this in their life. I'm glad for you, T. And I'm glad for our tiny Ever, who is only going to make us a fuller family.
So for anybody who isn't counting the weeks carefully (or crazily, as I am...) T is 28 weeks along now. That is very pregnant. That is nearly seven months pregnant. Evie is growing faster than ever, with about five or six pounds to gain yet. That little fact sometimes is concerning, as poor T's belly already seems stretched to its limit. We of course realize that it is NOT actually stretched to its limit, but it is very tight and Evie is quite insistent about moving around still. We began to notice and feel her hiccuping in there last weekend, right when T sat down on the beach. It's very adorable. T may not think so, I don't know.
The belly button is an ever-evolving source of entertainment, as well. It's totally flat most of the time, with a small purpley star in its center. When her abdominal muscles contract, it pooches the belly button out a little bit and forces her belly into a cone shape, and that makes her laugh. We're interested to see if it ever really "pops" out. There's still lots of time for that.
In our Bradley class (which has finally started becoming useful!) our homework this week was to pack a birthing bag for the birth center! Insanity! I mean, okay great, it's awesome and Boy Scoutish to be prepared and all, but eek! Time to pack the birth bag means the baby will be here soon. SOON. Hmm. Notice, I did not say that we'd actually packed the bag. Mostly I've just been thinking about how that means the baby is coming soon. But yes, the Bradley instructor is now going over laboring positions and pushing positions and birth-type scenarios, which is scary and exciting. I'm glad to be DOING SOMETHING other than talking about nutrition and how much exercise is enough.
Speaking of Bradley homework, I have two chapters in the silly and outdated Husband-Coached Childbirth book to read. Must go.
I promise, we'll be back soon, because we've got a lot of stuff to talk about and mull over and T will be writing a review on The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding here soon.
We love you all and hope you're doing well!
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