It's my 33rd birthday today!!!

Today was my last birthday before Hurricane Newhaus arrives! And it was FAB! Of course you should expect nothing less when spending the day with Edward Cullen. New Moon came out this weekend and I went with a group of girlfriends to see the movie. That explains why we are fawning over Edward and Jacob in the picture. Lucky for us they were as dreamy and magical on the screen as they were in the book. Every single gal in the theatre was as or more obsessed as us, and no one threw us out for screaming I love you Edward at the movie screen. And at the end of the movie no one was too taken aback or offended when I yelled out that if it didn't work out with Bella that he could marry me. And then the lights came up and we went to Nordstrom....almost back to reality.

It was such a great day with girlfriends. It's the kind of day I would love to have any day, and perfect for my birthday. We had a nice lunch at Real Food Daily before heading to the movies. I got a few things that I can really use this year and I am very happy about that. Mostly some clothes that fit, which is all I've needed for quite some time now. Marc got me a pair of fantastic maternity jeans, so I can wear jeans again....yay!!! It's a little bit difficult to maintain creativity month after month in yoga pants. And his mom got me a cardigan cape that is so cute and comfy and perfect for the winter. I'm already at the point where I can't button up my coat, so this couldn't have been better timing. It gets cold in LA at night and now mama can stay warm! And I got some cute pj's that fit. Marc is probably ecstatic about that since I mostly wear the most unflattering clothes around the house that were in desperate need of improvement. I really scored today!

I feel super special and loved! Marc wrote me the sweetest birthday card that made me cry. I told him I wanted him to write me a heartfelt card, and he actually did! I was worried that he wouldn't want to because I asked him to, but he ended up writing me a beautiful card with a cute splash of humor. That made my whole entire day, and I hope he realizes that I'm easy to please. See, it really doesn't take much to make me happy!

Thank you to my sweet friends and family on this birthday! I love you!!!

28 Weeks Pregnant and Rockin'!

Here we go into our 3rd trimester! Weeee! I'm feeling great, just as I have through out the majority of my 2nd trimester. We haven't had any complications and I've been really lucky up to this point. The energetic little monkey in my belly hasn't even been keeping me awake at night. It probably helps that I'm always so tired at the end of the day that it only takes me a few minutes to fall asleep.

As far as food is concerned, I haven't had any real cravings. My favorite things to eat have been watermelon, apples and peanut butter (all natural of course after draining the oil), and red seedless grapes. Even though I have my favorites, everything edible looks good to me these days. Even being around meat hasn't grossed me out too much. Marc and I cooked salmon with black rice and veggies for dinner tonight and it was beyond delicious. We are cooking at home a lot more than we did in the first trimester. I was so grossed out by smells that I was repulsed at the thought of smelling food cooking. But smells haven't bothered me so much for quite some time, and I'm enjoying learning how to cook more things from my self-taught teacher. Marc is a real gem in the kitchen, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he enjoys the benefits of teaching me how to cook!

I'm exercising 5 days a week and plan to continue for the next 12 weeks til our little hurricane arrives. It's tons of fun to hear the cheers and applause from others as I truck it up and down the santa monica stairs. I must admit that I find that very motivating and it makes me feel a little like a rockstar. There are other pregnant gals doing those workouts, but I have yet to see someone else quite "this" pregnant making those same rounds. Hundreds of stairs are a lot of work for someone who isn't pregnant, so it's kind of awesome that I'm keeping it going....even though I've reduced my 13 sets to a meager 5.

The Baby's in the Belly but the Junk's in the Trunk (26 1/2 weeks)

Little baby boy only weighs 2 lbs, but I've gained 20....yikes! The doctor says I have nothing to worry about and that I'm right on track. But I think Marc and I would beg to differ. I am sooo heavy! It took me 2 hours to hike Temescal Canyon the other day. I used to hike that in less than an hour. Slowing down doesn't come naturally to me, but pregnancy gives me no choice.

My skin is stretching so tight over my tummy that it is freaking me out! I've been mixing up homemade stretch mark creams with vitamin E, olive oil, aloe vera, and cocoa butter. How could I possibly make it through 3 more months of this without getting stretch marks. I guess if my anti-stretch mark plan doesn't work, at least you can baste me. Yummmm....tasty Lizzy!

While I'm complaining, I should just get it all out. Why is my butt expanding? I'm starving all the time and go to bed hungry at night. And I can't even eat as much as I want at a meal because it puts too much pressure on my insides and makes it hard to breathe. The sensation of our little one pushing on my belly button creeps me out. I've never liked the feeling of someone touching my belly button, and now I can't control it. But hey, why would I waste my time talking about my belly button when it has practically disappeared. And isn't it true that some guys like a gal with junk in the trunk!

There are tons of fantastic things going on right now besides the fact that I'm huge. We've already gotten a few things for the baby! Yesterday we got a rocking chair and a bassinet! The rocker is a vintage bentwood style rocker and I think that the fact that I love it makes me feel like an old lady. And the bassinet was donated by one of Marc's coworkers and it is perfect for when the little bunchkin is sleeping right next to me. And the baby's room is getting really clean, organized, and understandable. Yaaayyyy!!!

Also, the baby is moving around like crazy, and it feels like I've gone to a theme park when I just sit down on the couch. I can feel him rolling around, which is similar to butterflies. It's extremely entertaining to watch my tummy moving around as he situates himself in his warm, cozy home. He probably just likes to stir the pot by reaching out for my belly button to test my patience because he knows I will love him regardless. That little stinker! He's probably going to be just like his daddy!

One of my biggest fears is living in a "baby house". Sometimes when you walk into a family's home that has kids, it looks like a monster came in and threw up a house full of toys. Gross! And then you can't walk in the dark because a tonka truck might stab you in the foot. Please don't ever let that happen to us! Thank goodness Marc is a minimalist and doesn't like that either, so we can keep that to a minimum. Yeah, yeah, I hear there's no stopping it. Watch this fear come true and feel free to laugh very loudly at me.

So Marc loves to joke and give me a hard time. He thinks I will never put our son down, because I love to hug and cuddle so much. He thinks I baby the cat too much and give in to anything he wants. But he never saw me in my years of teaching dance and how much respect I had from the kids. We had a lot of fun and the kids loved me so much that they never wanted to disappoint me....very similar to my brothers and I with my Dad. He was so cool that we didn't want to let him down. Even at that, I do think Marc is right. I can't wait to smother our little angel with hugs and kisses all the time!

Marc says things that are so sweet and cute so often and I'm afraid if I don't write them down I might forget them. He said he can't wait until our son is in high school and he can relearn high school math and algebra and help teach our son. That is especially endearing to me because Marc is such a diligent, patient teacher. He also expresses how lucky he feels to be having a boy with me. And I believe him because he doesn't say things because you want to hear them. He only says what he genuinely feels or believes.

Instead of working out today, I planted some palm trees. Don't worry, they weren't too heavy. But it sure was a workout carrying everything up to the rooftop to plant. Boogars helped me by hopping over to the neighbor's deck and sunbathing on their patio furniture. And I love it when Marc comes home and is happy with my progress. Ok, so once again, I'm defininitely getting older. I never would have taken such pleasure in being domestic in my 20's. But I absolutely love doing things to make our home nicer.

According to some books, I begin my 3rd trimester in 2 days on Thurs., week 27. In one sense I feel like time is flying, but on the other hand it feels like I have been pregnant forever. I'm trying to get the hang of this blog-thing, and hope to update more often.

2 for 1 Special?

Happy Halloween! I worked on Tues. night and dressed up as an angel. Unfortunately they weren't very keen on the 2 for 1 special that I had to offer. I guess pregnant angels aren't so hip in hollyweird when dozens of supermodels are right behind you ready to take your place. Needless to say I was fired from my duties for the rest of the week. The news was delivered via email stating that they were "at capacity" and didn't have room for me. Ouch! That hurt! Pregnancy has definitely taught me a thing or two about discrimination, and I am probably becoming a better person for it.

Since I didn't have to work that awful job through out the rest of the weekend, I got to go to the west hollywood parade with friends. It was the best people watching and we had so much fun.

Marc defininitely knew how disappointed I was and has been extra sweet. Rejection is never fun anyway, but especially when you're big and prego with limited options. For the first time in my life I am realizing that almost every single job I have ever had in my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE has been appearance based. Now I must rely on my creativity and brains!!! Lucky for the world because I am up for the challenge!

Also, Marc has also been extra sweet to Boogars, and I am certain that he secretly loves him to pieces. They have become best buds and it melts my heart. Thank heaven for all my sweet boys!!!

It's a BOY!!!

This weekend was like a reunion of sorts. In my first trimester I didn't have the energy to see very many friends. But this past weekend I went to a housewarming party, a baby shower, AND a dog's birthday party! From the looks of the first picture with the doggies and balloons you can see that this is no joke. All of those girls are former DCC's and we had a blast visiting with each other and playing catch-up. And of course they were excited to see my baby bump. That's me at 24 weeks pregnant with Leah, Jennifer, and Bonnie-Jill.

It is great to feel good! These past few weeks have been fantastic! Marc and I went on an awesome vacation to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Everyone on the tour was surprised to see me running up to the top of cathedrals, climbing stairs, and even riding a donkey. Some were extremely disapproving of how active and care-free I was, but other than exhaustion I was ecstatic to run around Europe and Africa and soak up as much of the culture as possible.

We found out the day before we went to Spain that IT'S A BOY! The second picture is at the doctor's office right before we found out. I thought it was a girl because I've been so emotional, but I never had morning sickness, so maybe that should have been the tell-tale sign.

Since we've been home I've been getting a lot accomplished including exercise and preparing for our baby boy's arrival. I still have a lot to do in his room. Right now it is full of stuff from my old apartment and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed about where to put everything and what I can get rid of. We also have two pseudo-offices in that room, and all that clutter gives me a head-ache. Fortunately I have time this month to get it knocked out one day at a time.

I'm really nervous and excited about my job this week. I got hired to work bottle service for a slew of halloween parties. I'm excited because the money should be fantastic, but I'm nervous because the people that hired me do not know I am pregnant. I just found out we are supposed to wear angel costumes that show a little midriff, but they said we could wear a white tank top under it if we don't want our tummy to show. I'm sure I can wear the skirt and halo and am bringing some white shirts that work with my belly. Hopefully they won't discriminate against me and I will be able to work this temporary job all week long!

Boogars and Eggs Bendedict

My favorite things in life today are Boogars and eggs benedict. And I thought that was blog-worthy....isn't it? I think the most important things in the life of a pregnant gal are what she wants to eat and unconditional love. So I guess that means that today has been a good day! But it's been a good two days because yesterday Marc made french toast. He is such a good cook and it makes me so happy beyond belief when he cooks for us!

I truly feel blessed and healthy during this pregnancy. My only uphill battle remains my emotions. Sometimes I feel like I have zero control over them. They seem to just happen without me giving a thumbs up or down or any type of verification that justifies them. But I always manage to feel cleansed and refreshed after a good cry, and since I can't help it, I'll just roll with it and plan my next meal. Yummmm....

My trip to Mexico ended up being one of the most cultural and inexpensive trips I've ever been on. My Spanish could've used a few more weeks in Mexico, but my heart was ready to come home. It was kind of cool flying to Dallas with the former president of Mexico on board. The additional squad team added a bit of excitement to returning home to the U.S. I had a 3 1/2 hour layover in Dallas and had a nice lunch at my parents' house. They only live 10 minutes away from DFW and it made for a perfect break from the flight. And of course I was starving as usual and enjoyed some of mom's homemade soup. And my parents got to see me pregnant. My dad informed me that I don't need to eat every single thing I see and I thought that was funny. They aren't used to seeing me with a fuller face and arms in my new "potbelly perry" persona.

Now I must go look for a snack in the fridge. Surely there is something in there for me....

New Beginnings: Babies and Blogs!

Welcome to my blog! I wonder if anyone will actually read this. It seems to be the thing to do for moms that want to share what's happening in their family. Since I am about to be a mommy for the first time coming in February, I felt like jumping on the bandwagon. Why not? I am beginning a new chapter in my life and this calls for some documentation. My friend Sherrie told me that you can even turn a blog into a little book for the baby. What a cute idea!

In this past week (I'm 17 1/2 weeks), I am suddenly "showing". It is so funny that people are asking me questions about being pregnant without hesitation. There is an official baby bump that is no longer being confused with eating too many tofuburgers. I think it takes taller girls longer to "show", but I am petite and can't even hide 5 lbs around my waist line. So there is no mistaking what is going on in this belly.

Right now I'm happy because I haven't felt nautious in several weeks and I haven't had a migraine in the past few days. That is HUGE! I've also been exercising most every day. I read that only 15% of pregnant women get the recommended amount of exercise and I refuse to be in that category.

I'm in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico this week all by myself. I've never left the country alone before, but I suddenly realized that I am never alone these days. This is one of the rare, special times in life where there will be two heartbeats in my body. Home life has been a little on the stressful side with moving and not feeling great. But fortunately things are getting more settled and I was able to get away. This is a time in life that I truly want to treasure forever and ever. Even though I can't enjoy a margarita on this trip, I can enjoy the magical charm of this peaceful city. And of course I can never get enough salsa caliente, mangos con limon, y guacamole. Que rico!

I am feeling very blessed for so many reasons. Right now I am especially thankful for supportive friends and Boogars. Isn't life sweet!