Week 26: Happy Cumplesemana!

Good morning O. :)

Happy 26th week birthday!!

We're almost done with the second trimester...only 2 more weeks to go!

According to Pampers, you are about 13 inches long and weigh around 1.75 pounds. This week, your nostrils are starting to open up, which gives you the chance to practice breathing using your muscles and lungs. There's no air to take in, of course, so instead you "inhale" and "exhale" amniotic fluid.

You're also flexing some of your feeding muscles— your lips and mouth. Your sucking reflex is so strong that if your hand floats by your face, you'll suck on your thumb or fingers. Ultrasounds often show babies in utero sucking their thumbs. In fact, some babies are born with sucking blisters on their fingers, thumbs, lips, or hands. Sucking is just one of the 70-plus reflexes you'll have when you're born.

Grasping is another of those many reflexes. If you hold out your finger to a newborn, you'll be amazed by the strength of their clutch. You are practicing your killer grip right now. Your favorite pull toy is your umbilical cord, which you like to yank and tug.

For months your eyes have been shut, but now they're almost fully developed and will soon be ready to open. Interestingly, whatever your ethnicity your eyes are blue at this time: The irises don't display their final color until a few months after birth.

Aww...sweetie, you're so busy in there! This is what you look like inside of Mommie right now:

I cancelled our appointment with the midwives that practice at Franklin Medical Center yesterday. So yes, we have finally made a decision. You will be born at Cooley Dickinson Hospital (God willing) or Daddy's car as he likes to joke. It's good to have finally made that decision since you'll be coming soon. Your Daddy and I think things will go okay at Cooley but there's no waterbirth there so you'll be born on land. Tomorrow we go to the midwives for a glucose screening test that screens Mommies for gestational diabetes. I'm going to be drinking a lot of sugar, hope it doesn't bother you too much sweetie.

It's time for Mommie to start working. I love you!

-Mommie

Week 25: Picture Post

More photos of what your parents are looking like lately:

We decided to walk to the post office on a really cold night last week, this is us all bundled up.


Daddy paying the bills

Daddy looking cute in his work clothes again

Mommie is now 44 inches wide (sorry about the pajamas, I'm usually more stylish in my nightwear)

Mommie watching Little Miss Sunshine. I have to do all sorts of things to get comfy. Yes, that's Mr. Snoogle!

Week 25: Birthdays and things

Good morning sweetie :)

I'm at work a little early today so I thought I would write to you. Your Daddy and I drove in together to work today because he works in the same town as me, about 10 minutes away. We had a fun day yesterday. We decided on Saturday night that we were going to skip Hypnobirthing class on Sunday morning. Yes, skip! We're bad parents but we didn't think it was going to be that good of a class and we had lots of things to do so we didn't go. I hope we learned enough in the first two classes to help us out a little bit. Instead of going to class, we slept in a little bit and Daddy got his clothes ready for work and Mommie slept some more and then we went grocery shopping. We take a really long time grocery shopping, it's kind of crazy. Daddy always gets a free cookie from the bakery when we go though so he's happy. After getting home we put everything away and I made breakfast and then we went to Abuelito Jorgensen and Abuelita Mayela's house to celebrate Titi Lucy's birthday!

Titi Lucy blowing out her candles

Abuelita Mayela made yummie food and Tio Toti made a really delicious cake for his sister. We got to see all your Titis and Tio too. Titi Lucy's lovie Ray who lives in Queens was also in attendance. After lunch we played a few rounds of Rumy and Titi Tatiana won. It was getting late for Daddy and I so we left around 6:30 to go back home. We drove on the highway for a bit but then decided to take Route 9 home which took longer but it was prettier. This week is a busy week at work so I better go. I love you sweetie!

-Mommie
(25 weeks, 6 days)

Week 25: Lela Carmen!

Guest Post from Lela Carmen:

Querido(a) bebito(a),

Buenos dias! Well little one, how are things? Today will be a busy day for me. I've got to clean up a bit, go to the supermarket. Then I will be going to a birthday party with your cousins Yasmin and Jalil. The party is at a bowling alley close to their house. Then they will be sleeping over. We plan on watching the movie Madagascar. We've seen it a few times, but it still makes us laugh. I like the part when they sing "I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it, I like to move it." The three of us start moving in our seats and laughing loud. Maybe you'll join us soon in our madness. Your grandpa went to Sam's to buy some things. I gave him a list because he tends to get carried away.

It's been quite cold these day. I'm happy that you will be born in May. The weather should be nicer by then. Your father had mentioned certain people who celebrate their birthday in May. I'd like to add to the list. Your great-grandmother Teresa (my mom) was born on May 4th, and your cousin Yasmin on May 12th. This makes May an extra-special month. Will you born on May 8th?. . . we'll see.

I've been wondering if you suck your thumb inside mommie's tummy. I'm sure that must be a very comforting feeling. You know, there's a fifth grader at my school that sucks his thumb. I usually see him do it towards the end of the day. I've been meaning to find out more about it and talk to him.

Well, I wish that you may have pleasant dreams. That you will let mommie sleep so that she will be rested to go to work. I'd like to reccommend some books to daddy that he may want to borrow at the library to read to you. These are books that have been selected by children as their favorites.

Here's just a short part of the list:

• Robert McCloskey. Make Way for Ducklings

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard love their home in the Boston Public Garden, and once they get there, so do the Mallard's children.

• Ruth Krauss. The Carrot Seed

Despite everyone's dire predictions, a little boy has faith in the carrot seed he plants.

• Eric Carle. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep.

• Ezra Jack Keats. The Snowy Day

A young black boy spends an adventurous day in the city when it snows.

• Harold and the Purple Crayon

(this one should have a parental warning - beware of reading it to children who love drawing on walls!)

Gotta go!

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove you,
Lela Carmen

Week 25: Dreaming

Good morning little O. :)

Your Daddy is talking to his Mommie on the phone right now. I hope once you get older and leave the house you'll call me a lot too. You better!

Last night I had my first real birthing dream. It was kind of weird but nice. I've had a lot of dreams of me giving birth to baby turtles but I don't really give birth to them, they just kind of pop out of my tummie. Last night I had a dream that me and your Titi Jomaira were both pregnant with twins. We were in a room together and she gave birth first but I was having trouble. The nurses kept telling me how to push but it wasn't working so I told them to leave me alone for a little bit because I wanted to push a different way. As soon as they left I pushed the little babies out and put them on a table. I forgot to suction out their mouth and noses so I had to call the nurses in. They were really surprised that I had given birth so quickly and they took the babies away to the nursery. When I went to see the babies they were in incubators but they weren't babies anymore they were hairless rats. Yes, rats.


They were really cute though and had little hats on. After that I woke up and told your Daddy. He must think I'm a weirdo. It was a really nice dream though.

Yesterday Mommie had a hard day. I woke up with a bad nosebleed yesterday morning. It kind of freaked me out because I haven't had nosebleeds before. I looked online and they say it's perfectly normal for pregnant women to have nosebleeds but the blood was gushing out which had me concerned. I squeezed my nose for about 15 minutes and it still hadn't stopped so I squeezed for another 5 minutes and then it stopped. Yay! I hadn't slept well the night before and was a bit sad so I took a mental health day from work. I stayed in bed for the day and watched episodes of the Office, finished my book and ate ice cream and cheese puffs. At 3pm I decided to get out of bed since by that point except for getting up to get food or going to the bathroom I had been in bed for 15 hours straight. Crazy! I took a shower and went to the library to return my books and then came home. Your Daddy got home at that point from work. He had a really good day at work yesterday but I'll let him tell you about it. We had some free movie passes so we headed out to Springfield to watch a movie. Mommie doesn't like watching violent movies in general and especially now that you're around so our movie choices were somewhat limited. I really wanted to see Blood Diamond, it's a movie about the conflict in Sierra Leone but I knew it would be too violent for me to watch. So we picked the Pursuit of Happyness which is rated PG-13. It's based on a real story about a struggling salesman with a young son and how he struggles to make ends meet. I really liked it and made me think about how lucky we are. I was crying through a lot of the parts but your Daddy was there to hold my hand. We'll always be there for you O, no matter what.

I'm glad it's Saturday and that I get to spend the day with your Daddy. We're going to go run some errands now. Love you sweetie!

-Mommie
(25 weeks, 4 days)

Week 25: Almost there

Hi O,

Your Mommy and I were talking about how close you are to coming to see us and real soon you'll be due in less than 100 days! Double digit days! Crazy! Things have been ok with me, almost done with first week of work, and it hasn't been that bad. It's getting real cold tonight, and tomorrow is supposed to be freezing! Lucky for you it's probably real warm inside Mommy! Your Titi Lucy, my older sister, turned 35 yesterday! Did you think of her? I'm sure you would have had you known it was her birthday, but I don't think I or your Mommy ever told you, sorry. Soon another Titi of yours, Titi Tatiana will have her birthday, around when your birthday (literally, BIRTH-DAY) is. Her birthday is May 14th. Oh and did I mention my birthday is May 6th? Crazy huh? So many birthdays around the same time. Can't wait to see you and hope things are going well, love you sooo much. Chat soon.

Pa

Week 25: Photos

This is what your parents are looking like these days:

Daddy eating his famous rice and Doritos

See how cute he is? Daddy in his work clothes.

Mommie 6 months pregnant

And the profile...

Week 25: Tuna fish

Hi again O. :)

I just finished having lunch. I had a tuna fish sandwich. It was really yummie and I already had fish twice this week so that's good. Fish has all these goods things in it like omega-3 fatty acids that will make you a stronger baby.

Do you know that Mommie used to be a vegetarian? I became a vegetarian a few months before I turned 18. I wasn't very healthy about it at first and just ate a lot of junk food because it was convenient. After a few years though I started eating lots of soy proteins and things like tempeh and cutting down on junk food. After a few months I didn't miss meat and found lots of yummie things to eat.

What happened? Well, I started craving fish last year. I hadn't really craved fish in the 8 years I had been a vegetarian so I took it as a sign that maybe my body was lacking something found in fish. I started adding flax seed oil and flax seeds to things I cooked (they have omega-3 fatty acids) and thought that would help but it didn't. I was really starting to crave tuna fish and thought that maybe it was just the taste I was craving so I thought about getting some Tuno. It's vegetarian tuna but the thought of eating it grossed me out.


I kept debating whether I should eat fish for months because I really felt bad for fishies and still do. It's one thing if they're down in the ocean and another fish or animal eats them but for us to farm all these little fishies and mess up their natural environment made me sad. It all came to a head on a trip to San Francisco this past July. I was determined to eat fish and on my last night there we went to a Cuban fusion restaurant and I ordered a whole fish, with eyeballs and all. Here is a picture of him:

Rest in peace, Mr. Fish

I thanked him for giving up his life and then dug in. He was so delicious! Ever since then I haven't been a vegetarian. I still haven't eaten poultry or other meats or even other seafood but I have been having fish every few weeks. I hope it helps you out a little bit, O.

Love you!
-Mommie

Week 25: Running to the bus stop

Good morning little O. :)

I had another dream about you last night. You were about 2 years old and you were running up a little hill. You were so cute are you were dressed all in red. Whenever I have dreams about you, you're dressed in red. I don't know why though, I'll have to look it up.

I'm at work a little early so I thought I'd write to you. I went to take the bus to work this morning but as I was walking I saw the bus coming (10 minutes early!) so I started running, well a running waddle to catch it. I saw that there was a man at the bus stop so I waved at him hoping he would tell the bus driver to wait. I know he saw me but he must not have told the bus driver to wait because the bus left right away. O, if you see someone running for the bus tell the driver to stop, it's the right thing to do. Out of breath, I waddled back home and drove to work.

I have been meaning to sing to you lately so I thought this would be the perfect time. I turned Democracy Now! off and thought about what song to sing to you. I don't know a lot of nursery songs and some of them scare me so this is the first song that came to mind:

Angel Standing By
by Jewel

All through the night
I'll be watching over you
And all through the night
I'll be standing over you
And through bad dreams
I'll be right there, baby
Holding your hand
Telling you everything's going to be alright
When you cry
I'll be there baby
Telling you were never anything less than beautiful
So don't you worry
I'm your Angel standing by

I completely broke down around the "holding your hand" part. Mommie's mascara was everywhere but I pulled it off and finished the song for you. You kicked a lot after I was done so I don't know if you liked it or were saying to hush because you were trying to sleep.

I stopped to get gas and then I returned to my repertoire. I could only think of Jewel songs at this point so I sang you:

Hands by Jewel:

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear
My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after
We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
I am never broken
In the end only kindness matters
In the end only kindness matters
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's heart
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's hands

Mommie saw Jewel perform in Northampton a few months ago and cried through that whole song but I didn't cry when I sang it to you this morning for some reason. I was getting close to work by this point so singing time was over. I'll sing more songs to you later.

I got to visit your Daddy at work yesterday because I was at UMass for a workshop on Teaching for Community Engagement. I got to see where he works and then we had a quick lunch together in the Campus Center.

In the morning your Daddy leaves for work about an hour before me. I don't get up very easily in the morning so when he's about to leave I barely open one eye and give him a kiss and mumble I love you, hope you have a nice day and then go back to sleep. Unlike me, your Daddy takes his time getting ready in the morning and is really chipper. Every morning I'm amazed by how cute he looks in his fancy clothes, tie and all. Your Daddy is adorable.

It's time for me to start working so bye sweetie. I love you!

-Mommie
(25 weeks, 2 days)

Week 25: Cousin Yasmin!

Guest Post from Cousin Yasmin:

Hi Baby,

Are you a girl or a boy? I wish that you are a girl because I want a girl cousin to play with. I wonder what you like? I won't get to see you for a long time. Are you comfortable in Titi Hanna's belly? I hope you get a lot of gifts from your baby shower!

I love you
Yasmin

Week 25: Career Wisdom

Happy 25th, week that is. It's Daddy. Lots to tell you. I started a temp job not too far from your Mommy, and after a couple days at work it seems ok there. Daddy has to take what he can get until I get something better to help Mommy you know. It's been kinda tough on the job front, lots of choices and with you coming into the world it makes me walk the line of trying to get a job that pays the bills now to trying to get a job that pays the bills and I have a passion for some time in the future. At least I know with your Mommy as my partner, and the support she gives me, I know I can do what I love workwise and Mommy will love me all the same, even if it means making less money. Money isn't everying in this world O, and I hope you do well in school to have choices not everyone has and can end up doing something for work you really are passionate about, not working to pay the bills, because that's no fun.

I've been feeling you kick like crazy, must be the Costa Rican soccer player in you! Mommy looks more and more beautiful every day, boy am I, and you, lucky to be with her. Got to run to eat dinner now but can't wait to see you, not too soon though ok. Love you.

Pa

Week 25: Happy Cumplesemana!

Good afternoon O. :)

Happy 25th week birthday!!

Yay! You're getting bigger and bigger. Sometimes when you kick now I can see you kicking. It's so cute. It's like I have a little alien inside of me.

According to Pampers, you measure 12 to 13 inches and weigh about 1.5 pounds. Your skin is still thin, wrinkled, and pale, but you get a bit plumper every day, thanks to the fat and muscle you're continually adding. Right now tiny blood vessels called capillaries are starting to develop below your little one's skin, and these will give it a pink hue. And you're still swallowing amniotic fluid. Your brain's cortex is developing into layers. Most of the action is still controlled by other brain areas that developed much earlier. Aww...you're getting smarter and smarter by the day. Your heart is beating so loudly that anyone who presses an ear to your belly can hear it. Your lungs are getting ready to take their first breath, and though the sex of your baby was determined long ago, genital differentiation is now becoming complete. You can make a fist and reach your feet, and you may already exhibit a preference for your left or right hand.

Last night your Daddy and I went to a Planned Parenthood Political Action Party in Easthampton. We got there a little late but were able to watch a video about the history of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and then Angus McQuilken, the Politial Director at Planned Parenthood talked about the current state of reproductive healthcare in the US and also in Massachusetts. Apparently things are starting to get better which is good. We signed up to volunteer so we might be meeting with some of our representatives soon and you'll get to come along too.

It's lunch time sweetie. Love you!

-Mommie

Week 24: You have a new friend!

Hi sweetie :)

My boss Mia gave birth to a baby boy this morning! He is 7 pounds and 21 inches and healthy. I miss Mia already. It was nice to have another first time pregnant mommie in the cubicle next to me but now you have a new friend, O! He's only going to be 3-4 months older than you so we can all hang out and do things together. I hope we'll get to meet him soon. Incidentally, Mia gave birth at Cooley and she said the nurses were great and she was able to have a completely natural birth. She asked for an epidural many times but the nurses suggested other things like a warm bath and the birthing ball. That makes me reconsider Cooley. Ahh..decisions, decisions!

It's time for bed for Mommie which probably means that it's wakey time for you. Have a lovely night my lovie.

-Mommie
(24 weeks, 6 days)

Week 24: Home at last

Hi sweet pea. :)

We just got home a few minutes ago...it's been a long day! We had a really fun weekend. On Friday night we visited your Titi Jomaira at UConn. Her apartment is so nice and huge and your she keeps it really tidy. Your Titi bought your Daddy and I yummie Indian food that we ate a lot of. After dinner Titi Jomaira took us to the Student Union so we could go to Husky Howl, a weekly event at UConn that's from 9pm-1am. We got a free mug and pen and yummie raspberry daiquiris. We had a lot of fun with Titi Jomaira and are going to visit again sometime.


On Saturday we got up early to tackle the second bedroom in our apartment that had sadly turned into a storage room. We organized our things and then visited Lela Carmen and Papa Cesar in Connecticut. We spent many hours with them and Lela Carmen cooked us a huge delicious dinner. Lela thinks you're a girl, sweetie. We'll see...

This morning we got up early to attend our second Hypnobirthing class. We did mostly breathing and visual imagery work. It was really relaxing. After that we headed to Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. Yes, another hospital! We had thought we had decided on Cooley Dickinson Hospital but our doula suggested that we visit Franklin because they also offer waterbirths. When we got there a really nice nurse Sam introduced herself and asked us what we wanted to drink for our tour. She got us some juice and then took us around the childbirth center. The tour took about an hour because she sat with us to talk about our pregnancy and to answer our questions. We even got to see 3 little babies in the nursery room who had been born prematurely. They were so cute, O! We couldn't stop looking at them.

We're going to think about it some more but we liked Franklin better than Cooley. They believe that birthing is a natural process not a medical event and that women should be supported throughout that process with as little intervention as needed. Their birth statistics are also better than Cooley but if we changed to Franklin we'd have to change midwifery practices and it's also 25 minutes away from our home instead of 8 minutes away like Cooley. So we'll see...feel free to let us know which one you like better, O. :)

After visiting the hospital we ran some errands and we're finally back. Mommie is glad to be home because I have been having a little bit of pain/soreness today. It's dinner time. I love you sweetie!

-Mommie
(25 weeks, 5 days)

Week 24: Lela Carmen!

Guest post from Lela Carmen:

Good Morning Baby,

It's your Lela Carmen wishing you a wonderful day. Your mommy and daddy came to visit last night, I so enjoy their company. I got a chance to rub mommie's belly and it seemed you were curled up toward the right side. Did you hear my voice? I hope we didn't speak too loud to interrupt your slumber. Mommie's belly looks round right now, so the name "Isabella" comes to mind. But everyone just wants you to be healthy.

Time goes by very quickly and soon you will be born. Your parent's are relentless in their pursuit for the best place for mommie's delivery. They care so much about you. God has a miraculous way of implanting the seed of love. Everyone is full of love for you even before you are born. Isn't God wonderful!

Here's my prayer for you and your parents:

Loving Father, I thank you for the miracle of my grandchild. Please help her/him develop into a healthy, happy baby. Lord there is so much love for this child and we praise your holy name for filling our hearts with love. Please God, continue to bless Johanna and Chester as they prepare for the baby's arrival. May they continually recognize Your presence in their lives. Amen

I'll write soon, so just keep warm and safe.

I love you!
Lela

Week 24: Pro-equality

Hi O. :)

You have been moving around so much lately. According to my baby newsletters, you'll be moving around the most during weeks 24-28 so I guess this is how you'll be for the next month. Your Daddy felt you kicking at 6:30 this morning and was shocked by how much you were moving around. He said, "how can you sleep with O moving around so much?" I said, "that's why I'm so sleepy!" Hope you're having fun in there.

Your Daddy and I went to a MassEquality meeting last night in Northampton. MassEquality is an organization that supports same sex marriage in Massachusetts. Right now, Massachusetts is the only state where same sex couples can get married. In the other 49 states, two men or two women can not marry. A few decades ago people of different races couldn't marry each other either. I hope that if you choose to get married someday you'll be able to marry anyone you want. Well, provided that your Daddy and I approve of the person. ;)

I was having crazy heartburn last night which I thought was a thing of the past, but not so. Your Daddy got me my tried and true heartburn cure, Orangina. Yummie! I felt better right away. You're going to get to see, well at least hear your Titi Jomaira tonight. We're visiting her at her school, the University of Connecticut, which also happens to be Mommie's alma mater. Can't wait! Love you sweet pea.

-Mommie
(24 weeks, 3 days)

Week 24: New Mexico Day #3

This was our last day in New Mexico. We were sad to leave Santa Fe. We woke up around 7:30am after sleeping for about 11 hours. Yes, 11 hours...we were sleepy. Sometime during the middle of the night the heat had stopped working and it was cold in the room. It wouldn't get above 54 degrees. Well, at least we had heat for most of the time in our room. We got our stuff packed, cleaned the room and got dressed to face the cold (layers of everything, pants, socks, shirts, etc.) and headed for breakfast at the hotel. We had seen that they had a make your own waffles station and were excited to use it. We got into the breakfast area and made waffles and had a few other things (bagels too) and then went back to the room to get our stuff and bring it to the car to then check out.

It was pretty cold outside, much colder than the day before but we still wanted to hike up to the Cross of the Martyrs. The hike is pretty easy but Mommie was a little bit short of breath so we had to stop a few times. It was beautiful at the top and we could see all of Santa Fe.





After Cross of the Martyrs, we hopped in the car and headed out to the Santuario de Guadalupe cathedral. We got there and the doors were locked. We started walking to another entrance and then someone came out to say they had just opened and to come in. The Santuario was beautiful and it's the oldest shrine in the US dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We said prayers again at the Santuario and lit more candles.

The reason for the small door is because the Spanish priests forced the indigenous people of the area to attend mass and wanted them to bow their heads when they entered the cathedral. Lots of indigenous people refused to do this so the Spanish created this small door so that everyone would have to bow to get in. Evil, evil.

After the Santuario we headed back into town to pick up a few souvenirs. We went to the Five & Dime and picked out some postcards and snacks for the plane ride. It was lunch time by then and we were so excited to go to this new tapas restaurant in town called La Boca. The problem was that it was lunch time and we couldn't find any parking in downtown Santa Fe. After driving around a bit we found parking a block from the restaurant. We finally got to the restaurant and there was note on the door that it was closed until that night because of a water pipe that broke, from the cold I imagine. So sad. We got back into the car and headed to Bert's Burger Bowl and got yummie ham/veggie burgers and fries.

It was time to leave Santa Fe. We got a few snacks from Wild Oats and headed onto 1-25 towards Albuquerque. We were sad to leave Santa Fe but we'll visit again someday. Maybe in a RV with you, sweetie.

Mommie & Daddy sad to leave New Mexico.

Views from 1-25 South

We returned our car rental and walked over to the shuttle but Mommie had forgotten her coat in the car so Daddy ran back and got it for me. We got to the airport and checked in and waited for our plane to arrive.

Views from the plane

Daddy resting on the plane

Our flight to Dallas was only about an hour long. Once we got to Dallas, Daddy ran to our connecting flight gate to try to get us seated together. Mommie waddles and had to go to the bathroom so Daddy went ahead of me. I went to the bathroom for the millionth time that day and then went to get some food. I went to Pizza Hut Express and got some breadsticks. The nice woman that worked there had made some extra pizzas and gave me one for free and also a free drink. So sweet! Daddy says it's because she saw that I was pregnant but I don't think so. I finally got to your Daddy and he had gotten our seats switched. This guy named Garza had his seat switched with mine and they paged him to tell him but he didn't hear them I think. We were waiting for the plane to board and there was a young man standing next to us. Daddy knew it was the Garza guy and it turned out to be him! Daddy is psychic.

People waiting to board the plane were a little crazy. Some had spent the night in the airport because flights from Dallas had been cancelled the day before. Your Daddy and I got in line and there was a Mommie who would not let the flight attendants check her stroller in. She got all loud with them and said she would give them the stroller later. We sat in our seats and then another couple came to sit down in the row across from us but there were people sitting there already. They were not happy about that and wouldn't just sit in seats that were empty. There was a whole mess but finally everyone got seats that they wanted. There was a cute little baby in the row across from us that kept looking at us and smiling. She must have known I was carrying a baby and was trying to say hi to you. I know you're all part of a special club.

Daddy and I played cards again and again I beat him. They were also showing TV shows on this plane and your Daddy and I had been smart and brought our headphones. We watched some David Letterman and a few other shows which made time go by really quickly. We got off the plane at around 11:20pm and got our luggage. Then we had to go pick up Daddy's car in the long term parking lot. Luckily the shuttle bus came quickly and the driver dropped us off right next to the car and even waited to make sure it started since it was so cold! It was really cold but the car started and after a little while warming it up we headed home and arrived home at about 1am. It was such a fun trip, O. I hope you enjoyed it. We'll take you back someday. Love you!

Week 24: New Mexico Day #2

Your Daddy and I got up around 7:30am on day #2 and got ready to leave our hotel (at least for one night) for our intended bed & breakfast. We didn't actually want to leave and were hoping that the bed and breakfast we had booked a room at wouldn't find our keys and we could stay in the nice hotel for another night.

The Weather Channel said it was going to be in the mid teens to low 20s so we layered up. We had the breakfast in the hotel, (mommie can spot free food from a mile away!) yummie pineapple muffins and cheese danishes. Your Daddy took some extra and packed them for later in the day (the extra cheese danish didn't last too much longer). We checked out and then went to our bed & breakfast. It was really icy and Mommie almost got into an accident on one of the streets with a SUV. Luckily they stopped in time (with the help of Daddy waving like crazy to the oncoming car to stop). We checked into our new hotel and were told we were in the Crow Dancer room (rm.# 111). It was really nice, faced the back (not the street which is more noisy) and had heat. Yay! Here are some photos from our room:









Mommie was still hungry so we went to La Posa's, mommie's favorite place for breakfast burritos. I got my burrito with red chile and Daddy got his with green chile (a bit milder) but they were both so spicy! Daddy couldn't take the heat so ended up eating the extra cheese danish to get the hot flavor out of his mouth. Although the burrito was hot it was still yummy.



After that we went back to the hotel to park our car and we headed to the Plaza (downtown area) which was two blocks away. We stopped in a little gallery of artist Barbara Bowles. Daddy and I really liked a lot of her photography but it was muy expensive so all we got was a small card. After that we headed to the Saint Francis Cathedral. It was really beautiful and Daddy and I lit prayer candles.








After that your Daddy and I walked to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum but their gallery was closed until the 26th of January as they were preparing for a new exhibit. In the meantime they were offering tours of Ms. O'Keefe's Research Center that is usually closed to the public, FREE. Daddy and I signed up for a 2pm tour and then walked around the Plaza. We went into a little shop and saw a wooden statue of a saint that looked like your Tio Toti.



Then we headed to the Loretta Chapel and were about to enter but thought we might be late for the Georgia O'Keefe tour if we did a "full tour" of the Chapel so we headed back there (little did we know). We had a tour of the research center and learned a lot about Ms. O'Keefe, it was pretty interesting. We got to see a lot of her work, and learned how much work she put into a painting before ever putting paint to canvas, like tons of sketches! We also got to see some of her rock collection and clothes. She was a pretty interesting woman.

Daddy outside of the Georgia O'Keefe Research Center

Mommie with a cute little car

Daddy at the Plaza

Afterwards we went back to the Loretta Chapel. The Loretta Chapel cost $2.50 to get in and it was tiny and had a really loud tape recording talking about the chapel. It was kind of weird. Had we known about how small it was we probably could have done "full tour" of the Chapel before our scheduled tour and still made it with time to spare! It was pretty though.

The famous staircase with no nails.

We walked back to our hotel room which was only a few blocks away.

Daddy stopped for a quick pic while walking.

Cute little adobe house

Mommie with a bush

We hopped back into the Sebring and headed to Jackalope, Titi Jomaira's favorite store in Santa Fe. Jackalope is this weird store with a little bit of everything. It's also an animal, a cross between a jack rabbit and antelope.

Daddy and Mommie with the barnyard animals at Jackalope

Daddy really liked Jackalope, they had amazing furniture and glassware but most of what was nicest was also expensive. Daddy was getting hungry so we headed to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame for dinner. When we got there they seated us in the back in this dark little corner where it was freezing (next to a door to outside). Your Daddy couldn't even take his coat off so he asked for us to be reseated. We got reseated but there was a long wait for the food because our waitress was new. Once we got our food it was yummie!

Mommie got veggie chili with a side of jalapeño cornbread

Daddy got BBQ chicken with fries. Daddy's chicken upon arrival...

After Daddy getting his grub on, poor chicken!

We were tired at this point so we went back to our hotel. We had thought about lighting a fire in the room but after reading that doing so improperly could cause there to be a lot of dangerous fumes in the room we decided against it. So we proceeded to watch Antique Roadshow for a little bit, funny thing is one of first things they showcased was from New Mexico area! Then after a while of watching we called it a night, before 8pm mind you, ready for Day #3.

What you look like inside of Mommie at 23 weeks, 6 days

Mommie & Daddy happy to be "home"

We're an old married couple!