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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

27 Weeks

Tomorrow I will be 27 weeks pregnant with our Baby Boy.  And considering it's been about a month since I posted an updated belly picture...this post is way past due!  We took this picture on Christmas night in front of our own little tree.  I'm being told more and more now how much I'm growing.  And am starting to get comments from strangers, meaning I guess it's pretty obvious now that it's a preggo belly and not a Holiday food belly :)


And now for the stats:


How far along? 27 weeks.
Baby size? 14.5 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds
What's going on with the baby? Baby boy is super active!  Many people have been able to feel him move, and my stomach definitely shows movement (which is kinda weird but very cool).  He looks like a thinner, more wrinkled version of what he will look like at birth and will begin filling out with baby fat for the next 13 weeks.  His immune system is maturing and his lungs are getting more and more practice for his first gulp of air.
Total weight gain/loss: At my 24 week appointment I had gained a total of 12-ish pounds from the beginning of the pregnancy. (They didn't tell me specifically, but I think it was something like that)
Maternity clothes? I'm mostly wearing all maternity clothes now.  I have very few "normal" shirts that are long enough now.  And even sweatshirts/t-shirts are getting tight.  I don't think any of my coats will button/close anymore :)
Stretch marks? None yet. I'm use Palmer's Cocoa butter massage cream for stretch marks after showers.
Sleep: I wake up a lot during the night (every time I turn over).  I'm having to go to the bathroom more often.  And I wake up with pain in my right hip most nights.
Best moment this week: Having other people be able to see and feel his movements, and celebrating Christmas with the Bean!
Awkward moment this week: Having a random guy ask me if I was going snowboarding with a baby...and then asking if that was even legal (I was just picking up hubby's board from the ski check!)
Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach, Diet Dr. Pepper, and sushi from Mikuni
Movement: He is super active now.  I feel movement pretty much through out the day.  The movements are getting stronger, and we can see little body parts as he shifts positions.
Food cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Chicken is still a little iffy, but I was able to eat some over the holidays with no problems.
Have you started to show yet? Definitely! 
Gender prediction: Boy!
Labor signs: Nope. 
Belly button in or out? In for now.  Although I can see a change coming sadly.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy. At least I think so... Maybe a little emotional at times.
Looking forward to: Making more progress on the nursery and starting the New Year countdown to baby boy!

Holiday Recap

Now that the holidays are nearly over (so sad about that!), I thought I should do a little catch up and post some highlights of the recent holidays so far.

Here are a few pictures of some little activities that have taken place this month:

Our Christmas tree.  I had to play with my new DSLR camera!





This was my Dad's Christmas Concert at Church.  He is the one dressed like Joseph :)

The week before Christmas it is now a tradition for my family to make the short drive up the hill to South Lake Tahoe and stay there for about a week.  My parents have an awesome time share where the lobby literally opens to the gondola entrance for the Heavenly Ski resort.  This year, there wasn't a whole lot of skiing/boarding going on...the hubs is the only one that got to go up, and that was only for one day!  Very unfortunate.  This was my first season being up there and not being able to snowboard...it was very weird.  But other than that, we all had a great time hanging out and just being with family.  My sister and her husband were there, and my Aunt and Uncle from Texas were able to come out for a few days as well!  I love this time of year and being able to be with family.

Outdoor skating rink at the time share

Dark Lord beer that the boys have been waiting months to try!


Toasting via Skype with Hubby's brother in law who they got the beer from



The drive home from Tahoe took much longer than it should have due to conditions like this...



But once we finally got down the mountain and out of the snow (Heavenly got 36 inches that day!!), we were greeted by some more Southern California family that came up to spend Christmas with us!   My Aunt, Uncle and two cousins drove up to spend some time with us.

My Aunt (left) and my mom (right)

My Aunt, my cousin, my mom and my sister

My Uncle

Hubs, cousin, and uncle, all watching sports no doubt!

Peppermint Martini by the fire


We have had so much fun with them, and obviously wish we could see them more often!  Those kids are growing so fast its incredible!

Christmas day was a lot of fun.  Hubby and I woke up and exchanged our presents to each other from The Bean.  I got a prenatal massage (so excited!) and he got Lego's that will be decorations in the Bean's room until he's old enough to play with them.  Then we gathered up the puppies and headed over to my parents house.  We all opened presents and had our traditional breakfasts (Mom's homemade bubble coffee cake for us, and sausage and biscuits with gravy for the hubs :) ).  Then it was time to get cooking!  The rest of the day was spent preparing Christmas dinner (for the  ladies) and watching movies/playing with new toys (for the boys).  All in all, a very good day :)





Wine toppers homemade by my cousin!


Sorry for such a long post!  But I hope your holidays were just as special!!

Holiday Cookies

This post is long over due, but I wanted to do a quick one just to show the fun sugar cookies I made for a Christmas Party the hubby and I attended a few weeks ago (see...I told you it was long overdue!).  I always like to make pretty or cute foods when we attend parties.  This is when I usually turn to Pinterest.  So this time around I found these fun "melted snowman" sugar cookies that looked easy enough.

But, when I looked at the recipe, I didn't have cream of tartar or most of the ingredients for the toppings.  So I went searching for some other recipes that I could use that would give me a similar outcome.  I ended up using this recipe for the cookies  and this recipe for the icing.

For my first attempt, I thought they came out pretty good.  I probably could have made them smaller, and used the packaged gel icing for the decorations, but ....oh well!  Live and learn!




Monday, December 3, 2012

Nursery Progress

Over the weekend, since we had a torrential downpour in our area, we decided to start on the inside project of the nursery.  I've been getting more and more nervous about getting everything done for the little guy...so hubby indulged me this weekend since he couldn't work in our pond of a yard.  We took a trip over to Home Depot and picked out a paint color for the walls.  The room we chose is already a shade of blue, but not the same shade I was looking for, and it also desperately needed a fresh coat.  After little deliberation (I'm usually pretty fast about choosing paint colors), I decided on Sapphire Lace by Behr.


First, some before pictures...




This room was kind of a "catch all" room before.  It housed all of the Cubs/Colts memorabilia, Hubby's old trophies and high school tennis pictures, old electronics,....just a mishmash of things.  Our first order of business was to clear out the room of stuff that will not remain in the nursery.  Then, since its not recommended that I paint right now...I got to taping. 



And finally, we (John) got the the majority of the paint on the walls.  All we have left to paint is the edges around the ceiling and in the corners.  



Now I know we didn't paint all the way down to the floor, but that is because our plan is to put white beadboard around the bottom half of the wall.  So we painted down far enough to be covered up by the beadboard.  I love the color!  I love how bright and rich the blue is.  I think it will go great with the white and the airplane theme :)  

Next step...new carpet and baseboards!

23 Weeks

This past Thursday I hit the 23 week mark.  It's a very strange feeling to be more than halfway done.  And to think that we have just about 4 months left (give or take) until baby boy arrives.  Now March doesn't seem so far away.  So, on to the update...

I'm going to steal a little "survey" type update that my friend Natalie has been using for her updates.  Hopefully she doesn't mind!


How far along? 23 weeks.
Baby size? 11.5 inches long and weighs 1.1 pounds
What's going on with the baby? He is very active and moving around a lot now.  It is even possible to see slight movements on the surface.  He is more proportioned from head size to the rest of his body and is starting to look more like a newborn.
Total weight gain/loss: At my 21 week appointment I had gained a total of 6 pounds from the beginning of the pregnancy.  I will likely be closer to 10 at my next appointment.
Maternity clothes? Definitely wearing maternity pants when I can.  They are much more comfortable.  I still wear the belly band for work pants.  And am wearing mostly maternity tops, but still have a few larger sweaters that work as well.
Stretch marks? None yet. I'm use Palmer's Cocoa butter massage cream for stretch marks after showers.
Sleep: I wake up a lot during the night (every time I turn over).  I also have to go to the bathroom at least once a night (sometimes more if we are sleeping in).  It has been hard adjusting to sleeping on my side, and am now using a pillow for between my knees.  But my hips get sore and that also wakes me up.
Best moment this week: Picking out the paint color for the nursery and actually getting 90% of the painting done!
Awkward moment this week: Haven't really had any awkward moments yet.  No random people trying to touch my belly thank goodness!
Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach, Diet Dr. Pepper, and sushi from Mikuni
Movement: He has been very active, but it is normally when I'm not active.  When I sit down after dinner, or before bed, or just at my desk at work, he kicks and punches a lot.  I'm feeling more sweeping motions now too instead of just kicks.
Food cravings: I had a craving for sugar cookies....but I think that might just be all of the holiday hype :)
Anything making you queasy or sick? Chicken doesn't sit very well with me.  It doesn't make me feel bad, it just doesn't stay down.
Have you started to show yet? Yep.  I think I popped right around Thanksgiving.  I've finally gotten comments from people now.  Which means I look pregnant enough to where they aren't afraid to ask :)
Gender prediction: Boy!
Labor signs: Nope. 
Belly button in or out? In for now.  Although I can see a change coming sadly.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy. At least I think so...
Looking forward to: Seeing my family for the holidays.  And also getting the nursery more ready.


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Baby Barker Is A....



We are finally able to tell everyone that we are expecting a baby boy!  I'm so excited!  I had a "mommy instinct" if you will from the beginning that we were going to have a boy, so I'm glad to know that I was right!    The hubs and I were able to tell my parents a few weeks ago.  I made a fun cake that I will post pictures of later that was blue inside.  

Over Thanksgiving we flew out to Indiana to visit my in-laws.  I had pre-ordered some cupcakes from a local bakery there and had them put blue icing in the center of the cupcake.  The whole family was very anxious to get into those cupcakes!  When we finally allowed them to, everyone was so excited.  It was a really fun time.  I took some videos of my in-laws finding out the news, so I will be sure to post them later as well.  

Now, I can really begin to plan!  We have decided to do an airplane and map theme for his room.  I'm loving the vintage style airplanes and old world maps for this little guy!  I'm so excited to start decorating his room.  I believe picking a paint color is in order this weekend!  

I will be taking a 23 week picture tonight, so I will be getting that post up ASAP.  I've been slacking on the weekly updates with all the holiday hoopla starting.  So, more to come!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Halfway there! 20 Weeks

I know this post is kind of late seeing as how I am going to be 21 weeks tomorrow, but better late than never.  Just a few quick updates.  We had our 20 week ultrasound at my 19 weeks and 6 days mark.  Yes, we did find out the gender of our little bean, but that will be revealed in a later post.  As far as the bean goes, everything is looking and measuring perfect!  We were able to see the face (profile and straight on), legs, arms, spine, heart...it was so amazing.  This was the first time seeing our little one actually looking like a human.  The last picture we got, our bean was still bean size!  We were able to watch the bean on the ultrasound screen for a good 45 minutes.  It was a very cool moment that made this whole journey so much more real.

I am continuing to feel lots of movement.  John can feel the kicks much more consistently now.  The bean is most active after I have eaten and right before bed when I'm sitting still.  It makes me smile every time.  Other than that,  not much has changed.

I am definitely showing now and t-shirts are starting to get tight.  I am wearing a mix of maternity pants and regular pants with the belly band.  As well as a mix of maternity shirts and non-maternity shirts that are slightly stretchy and long. I have gained a total of 6 pounds.

The hubs and I will be revealing the gender to his family next week when we travel out there for Thanksgiving.  We were able to tell my parents this past weekend.  I made a cake that was colored on the inside for them to cut into after dinner.  After his family gets the big news, I will be putting up another post with the gender, and the details of how we revealed it to both families :)

In the mean time...here is the best profile shot we got of our little bean (personally I think that's a smile on that sweet little face)!  Take your guesses now and see if you're right next week!

Our Bean at 19 weeks 6 days old

Thursday, November 1, 2012

19 Weeks - Happy Halloween!


I am 19 weeks pregnant this week and since yesterday was Halloween, I thought it necessary to take a bump picture :)  We are almost half way done growing our little bean and it's such a crazy thought!  It is a very surreal feeling that in just 21 more weeks, we will have our little bean here in our arms.  But, in the mean time we enjoyed a nice Halloween at home with our fur babies (who we took turn restraining every time the door bell rang).  We had lots of little trick-or-treaters last night and almost went through 2 Costco sized bags of candy.  My favorite costumes of the night had to be the little toddler dressed as a hamburger, and of course our little neighbor girl dressed as a care bear.

And now for some preggo stats and updates...

As I said I am 19 weeks now.  The baby is about 8.6 ounces and measures about 6 inches from head to butt.  I've heard that soon we will get to have measurements from head to foot, but since the bean is still so curled up, its too hard to measure how long the legs are.

The biggest news this week is that I have started to feel our little bean moving and kicking!  It's the coolest feeling (slightly weird to begin with, not gonna lie...but very cool).  At first I wasn't sure if that's really what I was feeling, but now I know.  For me, it feels like a very quick muscle spasm in my belly just under my belly button every time the bean kicks.  I never really felt the whole "flutters/bubbles" movement stage.  This little baby went straight for the kicking and punching...so much like daddy it seems :)  It was so strong Monday night, that even John could feel it when he put his hand on my belly.  It was so great to see his eyes get super wide and a huge smile spread across his face :)  I think we have quite the active little bean on our hands.

As far as eating and sickness, I'm feeling very normal.  I haven't gotten sick in a while which is a plus, and I'm eating normal food.  I definitely can't eat as much in one sitting as I used to, but it all works out.  I haven't had any real cravings (not that I consider cravings at least).

I'm not sure what my overall weight gain has been to this point.  I will probably find out at our 21 week appointment.  So I will be sure to post again.  Next Wednesday (Nov 7th) is the ultrasound where we get to find out the gender!  I'm so excited I can't even explain it :-D  I can't wait to start saying he or she :)

That's about it for now.  I won't be posting the gender right after we find out because we are going to tell the Indiana family in person which won't be for another couple of weeks.  But after that, I will have a gender post!  Until then, here is our Happy Halloween Bump!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Baby Moon Part 2 - New York


After Boston, we said our goodbye's to Jody, and took the train down to Penn Station in New York. Let me tell you...as someone who gets queasy on flights (especially with pregnancy)...the train is THE WAY to go!  Holy smokes, it was so easy, and so comfortable.  The seats were bigger, there was free wi-fi, plugs to charge your electronics, no restrictions on seat belt time or when you can use electronics.  It was fabulous.  I just wish there were high speed trains that we could take everywhere instead of having to fly.  But sadly, a train from here to Indiana would take like 3 days.  Boo.  But, I digress.  Here is the summary of our time in NY...

Day 1 in New York: This was kind of a half day since we didn't get to Penn Station until around 2:30 pm.  We walked to the hotel (yes, with our giant rolling suitcases along the streets of New York...) and dropped our bags off and headed into Times Square.  Since it was a half day we basically just walked around Times Square.  We went into the M&M store, bought some touristy things at one of the little shops along the way, saw the Naked Cowboy, and I just took in the big city :)  That night we went to dinner at a restaurant that I had gotten a Groupon deal for :)  Here is the link for Day 1  

Day 2 in New York: Day two started our excursions.  I had gotten a Living Social deal a while back for a 2 hour bike rental in Central Park.  So we used that and toured around all of Central Park.  It was so beautiful.  All that greenery in the middle of a huge bustling city.  Let me tell you, this preggo girl was huffin' and puffin' at some points on the bike ride, but it was so fun.  That night we had dinner at another Groupon restaurant  and then went to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theater.  WICKED IS AMAZING!!!! I absolutely loved it!  It was funny, the music was fantastic, and the costumes were great too.  I highly highly recommend it!  Here is the link for Day 2

Day 3 in New York: To start day 3, we headed to Times Square to stand in the TKTS line to get some half price Broadway tickets.  We expected to get the "cheap" seats for a decent show.  We did NOT expect to get Orchestra section, 8th row center tickets to Phantom of the Opera!  We got an amazing deal.  For anyone in New York that has a flexible schedule, I highly recommend standing in that line.  But be sure to get there early (I think it opened at 10).  We got there around 10:30/11 am and the line moved fairly quickly.  The show was at 2, so we killed some time by going to the NBC studios and Rockefeller Plaza.  We took the tour to "The Top of the Rock" (the top of the Rockefeller building) and saw the city from that view.  Then we headed back to Broadway and took in our second show of the week :)  Then we headed to dinner, and from there decided to do the Empire State building at night.  The views were incredible.  Here is the link for Day 3

Day 4 in New York: Day 4 was not quite as busy as it was cut a little short.  We changed hotels from our Marriott in Times Square (thanks mom and dad for giving us Marriott points!!!) to a really nice Westin in Jersey City right across the Hudson from Manhattan.  So we switched hotels, and then went back into lower Manhattan and took the cruise out to see the Statue of Liberty. Now, I know this is super famous and people plan for months to come see it, but honestly, I probably could have done with just seeing it from the mainland.  But, that's just me, and now I can say I've done it.  Then we took a stroll down to the Wall Street area and saw the Freedom Tower up close.  It's going to be amazing when it's done.  The rest was all under construction so we really didn't get to see the 9/11 memorial.  Next time...  Here is the link for Day 4

Day 5 in New York: Day 5 was kind of our catch up/catch all day.  It was rainy in the morning so we slept in.  Then we hit a bunch of spots that we weren't able to fit in on other days.  We went way uptown and I got to see Barneys NY, then we took a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall and got to meet a real Rockette, and then we headed over to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.  That was a lot of fun to see all the celebrity wax people!  And finally we rounded off our day with dinner at the oh so touristy Hard Rock Cafe New York.  Here is the link for Day 5

All in all, it was a fantastic trip!  We had so much fun and saw so many cool things.  And we were grateful to be able to spend that much time together away from work before the baby comes.  It was a very successful vacation that went off without a hitch.  So many thanks to Jody for putting us up for 5 days/nights in Boston and being our personal tour guide!  And many thanks to my parents for giving us Marriott points and for letting us use their camera!  We appreciate it!

Check back soon for an 18 week baby bean update! :-)

Baby Moon Part 2 - Boston



This past weekend the hubby and I returned from our wonderful 10 day trip out to Boston and New York.  I had never really been to the east coast, so this was my first time getting to see all of the sites.  I'm going to try to keep this post short and not give you all of the details of every activity of every day...I'll try to just let the pictures do the talking. And, since I took quite a few a whole freakin' bunch of pictures...I'll post the links here instead of the actual pictures.  So, here is the summary of our trip to Boston.  In order to not make this a marathon post, I will write another one to cover NY.  Enjoy!

Day 1 in Boston: This was our day to travel to and through Cape Cod.  Jody was kind enough to drive us all over the place during our stay in Boston.  During the Cape Cod day we had lunch at a fun little diner along the way, saw some really cool beaches and dunes (very different looking dunes if you are used to the California/Pismo dunes), and climbed (thanks babe) the Pilgrim Tower in Provincetown.  The views were great though from that high up.  Here is the link for Day 1

Day 2 in Boston: Day two was our day to drive basically all over the state of Massachusetts (thanks again Jody!) to see some of the pretty fall colors that were beginning to change.  Unfortunately, the New England area had a pretty dry summer apparently, so the tree colors were not as bright as they have been in years past, but we still managed to see some really good ones.  We stopped in a few little quaint towns, and found a cool state park area that had a stream and a little wooden bridge (photo op :) ).  I just absolutely fell in love with the architecture style of the New England area!!  Here is the link for Day 2

Day 3 in Boston: Day 3 was our Downtown Boston day.  This day was a lot of walking!  It was a great change though, I needed the exercise.  First we stopped at the Sam Adams Brewery and the hubby got to do some beer tasting.  Jody and I had rootbeer since she's not a beer fan and I am obviously not drinking for the next several months!  Then we headed in to downtown where we saw a little bit of everything.  We saw the Boston Commons, Cheers, the Boston Harbor (or Habah as they say in New England), the Church of Paul Revere, just to name a few.  That night we had dinner at a nice restaurant and Jody treated us to The Blue Man Group!  The show was amazing and so fun :)  Here is the link for Day 3

Day 4 in Boston: Day 4 was our catch up on sleep day, laundry day, and chill out day.  We did a few things touristy, we went to Plymouth and looked around for a bit...saw the Mayflower replica, and Plymouth rock.  But other than that we ran a few errands with Jody, and just hung around the house since our train into the city to head to NY was an early one.  Here is the link for Day 4

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

16 Week Checkup

This should be a short post (especially in comparison to my last few!).  But I just had my 16 week check up on Monday and wanted to share how it went.  The hubs was unfortunately out of town on work travel so he was not able to come with me.  But, I am so thankful that my mom was able to take some time and be my moral support.

I'm was actually 15.5 weeks at this appointment, but since we are leaving on Babymoon Part 2 before I technically hit 16 weeks, we decided to have the appointment a little early.  That way we could get the bean checked out before we jet set :)

The appointment was short and sweet.  The usual: Get weighed, pee in a cup, blood pressure and all that jazz.  I also got a flu shot this time, since that season is just around the corner.  According to the Dr's scale, I have not gained any weight since my first appointment which was at 6.5 weeks.  Dr. said that was totally fine, and to just keep doing what I'm doing, as long as I'm not losing weight.

And then came the fun part...getting to hear the Bean's heartbeat.  It was a lovely steady 155 beats per minute which is just normal :)  I get a huge smile on my face every time I hear that little thump thump thump through the Doppler   I'm so glad my mom was able to experience it with me as well.  And thanks to her, you all can hear it now too :)  She took a little video on her phone and if you turn your sound up, you can hear our little bean's heart!  Thanks mom!!


Friday, October 5, 2012

15 Weeks

I am now officially 15 weeks and 1 day.  One more week till I hit 4 months!  It's so crazy and exciting and surreal all at the same time.  It's one thing to think about being pregnant, and growing the belly.  It's something totally different (at least to me) to imagine the little life that you're growing, and what it will be like when it finally comes into the world and changes our lives (for the better) forever.  I have so much fun day dreaming about it.  What it'll be like to bring our little bean home for the first time, introducing the bean to the puppies (our original babies), seeing the hubby turn into a huge pile of teddy bear mush when he holds his little bean for the first time :) .  It is all so exciting for me to think about.

But, enough of the sentimental stuff.  On to the stats!  Here is the bump picture for 15 weeks...I was actually good this time and took the picture ON the 15 week mark day!


You'll have to excuse the outfit, we had just taken the dogs to the park and I didn't feel like changing for a 3rd time :)

I'm still wearing all of my normal clothes, although as you can see, with more form fitting shirts, you are starting to see something there.  But, personally I still think most of the time it looks like I need to lay off the donuts.  I think I have one (maybe two?) pairs of pants that still button.  But I'm definitely wearing the belly bands almost every day.  I haven't graduated to maternity pants yet but I likely will by Thanksgiving.

As far as food goes, I'm back to eating normal food.  I'm not solely surviving on carbs anymore which is good.  However, I have found that my appetite seems to have shrunk significantly.  This past week I have had several occasions where I either eat too fast, or too much (still haven't figured out the real culprit here), and then none of what I just ate stays down.  Literally, I get sick either within 2 minutes of finishing eating, or right in the middle of my meal.  So, that has been kind of a bummer.  I guess the plus side is that I never feel sick or nauseous.  It just kind of happens all of the sudden.  So, I either need to eat slower, or learn where that point of no return is!

The stuffiness and sneezing still continues.  But, after all of the recommendations, I finally bought myself a humidifier.  I set it up and used it last night, and whaddya know.....I slept through the night!!  Well, minus having to get up to pee, but that's a given, and not likely to get any better any time soon.  But the humidifier seemed to do it's job.  Needless to say I will be putting it to the test every night now.

Some stats about the bean...
*About 3.5 to 4 inches from head to rump
*About 2.5 ounces
*About the size of an apple or navel orange
Courtesy of thebump.com
*The hairline is starting to form and the hair on the bean's head is starting grow
*All of the joints on the arms and legs are functioning, and the bean may even be starting to suck a thumb!
*Even though the eyes are fused shut for several more weeks, the bean is sensitive to light and would likely wriggle away if we shined a light on my belly.  

I think that's about all for now.  Other than steadily growing a belly, not much is changing.  I do have a couple of baby related projects in the works for my other friends that are also expecting (I know 6 other gals due between January and May!!)  So once I actually give those to their owners, I will be posting the tutorials on what I made.  But for now, it remains a secret so that the mommies to be will be surprised!!  I also plan to do some posts on what kind of gear we're looking to register for, as well as cloth diapering, because I fully intend to cloth diaper :)  (Hubby thinks I'm slightly nuts, but he's still supportive of saving the money!)  

Thanks for reading, and have a fabulous weekend!

Monday, October 1, 2012

14 Weeks and a Santa Barbara Getaway

This past weekend, the hubby and I took a little weekend getaway down to Santa Barbara.  It was so nice to literally get away from our normal lives of yard work and house work and whateverelse work, and just have some time to ourselves!  The first day we went to breakfast at a place called Renaud's.  It's a cute little cafe and came highly recommended to us from Jenn over at July Moon.

Then we took a little drive down State street and found some parking a little closer to the beach.  We walked down to the beach, and took a stroll down the pier at Stearn's Wharf.

The entrance to the pier

The view of the marina.  

Stearn's Wharf

It was so clear!

These guys were so tame!

Baby Bean at 14 weeks.  First trip to the ocean!
After the pier, we walked back down State Street to find some lunch.  After passing so many little restaurants, we decided on one called Killer B's.  It was a grill, and after looking it up on yelp, Hubby decided it was rated high enough for his taste ;-)


After lunch where we got to sit outside and enjoy the 80 degree weather, and people watch (my favorite!!), we decided to head over to UC Santa Barbara and check out the campus.  Sorry, I didn't take any pictures there, we were trying to see how well we fit in as college students!  Finally we came back to the hotel to rest for a little while before dinner.  We went to dinner at another highly recommended location called Jane's.  This place reminded me of eating in a quaint little restaurant in Paris.  The decorations inside were so fun and cute, with twinkle lights everywhere.  And our table was upstairs right next to a window that overlooked the balcony.  It was fantastic!  And, the filet was absolutely delicious!

Sorry for the quality, it was low lighting and taken on my phone.
After dinner we did some more walking around and came across a fun little Italian restaurant where we decided to have dessert (the theme this weekend was eating apparently...)


Also while walking around and exploring all of the little alcoves were fun shops were hiding down on State Street, I saw this awesome piece of work!


Excuse my nerdiness here...but this looked like it was straight out of Harry Potter!  I was so tempted to get in and see if I would be transported to the Ministry of Magic :-)

The second day we went to breakfast at a little place called D'Angelo's Bread.  It's a great bakery and they had super delicious croissants and danishes.  From there we headed to Hendry's Beach.  It's a very cool area and they even have a whole stretch of beach just for dogs to run loose off their leashes!  It was so fun to see them all running and playing and swimming in the ocean.



After some relaxing, reading, sunbathing, and frisbee throwing on the beach, we headed back to hotel to rest up and change for our dinner cruise!

Our dinner cruise was courtesy of Santa Barbara Sailing Center.  It was a sunset cruise so we headed out on the water around 5:30.  On our way out of the harbor, we saw some rather large and rather unique boats that happened to be docked there.

Just some cool yachts and sail boats

More coolness
First up, was this beauty of a yacht.  There were some fancy shmancy people boarding this guy before we left the dock.  Apparently you can rent it out for private parties, but we learned from a couple on our cruise, that it's about $1500 an hour!!!

Then there was this piece of history.  The Spirit of Dana Point, which according to our captain, used to be called the Pilgrim.  A little tidbit of info here: This ship is an accurate replica of a 1770's privateer used during the American Revolution.  Known for their speed, it measures 118 feel long, with a rig height of 100 feet, and 5000 square feet of sail! 



More info can be found here
Then we saw this one.  The pictures definitely do not do it justice.  This massive sailboat/yacht is owned by the Firestone family.  This sucker is a whopping 171 feet long.  This was the epitome of luxury on water.


You can see better pictures and more details about this floating wonder here

 And last but not least, was this guy, the Taxi Dancer.  This boat competes in lots of long distant races all over the west coast.

And since sunset pictures don't really need an explanation...I'll just let you view :)

Tons of pelicans!



Love this silhouette.  I need to adjust the angle of the horizon though :)





Final moments of the sun

First moments of the rising full moon
On our drive back home, we were able to stop in San Luis Obispo (my old stomping grounds) and had lunch at Firestone Grill.  So yummy!

Thanks for reading my marathon post!  More craft posts to come soon, I promise!!