Baby Shower

One of the first things Kelsey said after we found out I was pregnant was that she wanted to throw me a baby shower. Now, I've been to baby showers and the very concept of having one of my own made me vaguely want to barf. Imagining sitting in a roomful of women who are eating cucumber sandwiches, playing stupid games and assailing me with stories about the horrible things that happened to their nipples while breastfeeding and how many stitches it took to repair their vaginas after childbirth makes me want to run away from home and just have this kid alone in a cave somewhere. But, since Papa-to-be and I aren't married, our families have never met and we thought it was important that they did and we did want to have a day to celebrate. Besides, I have complete faith in Kelsey's party throwing abilities.

So, we invited everyone we are even distantly related to, got a cake and a bucket of beer and just spent the day together. It was a great day and it reminded me not only how much I love this man but how much I love my family and his and how lucky this little girl is going to be to call them hers.

 Come on, tell me this man isn't going to be the best papa ever.

I'm going to bed now. Exhausted, belly full of baby and enough food and cake to feed a small family for a week or so and more sure than ever that this is going to be fucking amazing. 

Yosemite By the #s: 7 months, 30 degrees, 1 bear

We camped in Yosemite this weekend. Some people were of the opinion that I was crazy for going camping and hiking while 7 months pregnant. I knew it would be awesome, though and I was right. It was the most fun I have had in a very long time.

Kelsey, Kirk, Shaun and I drove up on Friday. The first night, we were sitting around the campfire and a bear walked right up to us. It was in the 30s at night which, even with the extra heat generated by having another human being growing inside my body, is COLD. The first night Shaun and I slept on the ground, in sleeping bags in a tent. I wore boots and a jacket even to sleep. In the middle of the night, we heard a gun shot and a man yelling "Git!" and what sounded like a horse running just feet from our tent. I almost peed my pants it was so scary waking up to that. I think it was a park ranger chasing away the bear that had tried to join our fire earlier.

The second night we got smarter and we slept on two cots pushed together and zipped our sleeping bags together. I love everything about camping. I think it's because we camped so much with my pants when I was kid. In fact, the cots that Shaun and I slept on in Yosemite are the very ones, borrowed from my parents, that I slept on in Bryce and Zion and Sequoia as a kid. I love cooking over the fire, I love pumping water from the communal faucet, I love roasting marshmallows and walking in the dark with a flashlight to brush my teeth in the far off bathroom. Yosemite is, of course, insanely gorgeous. This isn't the best season to visit but it was still amazing. I wouldn't have been able to go on any of the really good hikes anyway as huge as I am right now. We did go on a few short hikes though which were amazing. Lower Yosemite Falls hasn't frozen over yet so we hiked there. I was pretty much able to keep up in every way except for the consumption of Jack and Cokes and Kahlua spiked hot chocolate around the fire. I was jealous about that part.

I can't wait to take Kaya camping someday. But, first things first- I can't wait to meet her! 2 months to go. Her baby shower is in a couple weeks and I am so excited. Papa-to-be has been so amazing, he goes to every single doctor's appointment and is fastidious about feeding me prenatal vitamins. When I get home from work at night and lie down in bed with him, my belly pushes up against his back and Kaya starts going crazy, kicking and flipping. As Shaun says "It feels like she's doing Tae Bo in there". I think it's because she can hear his heartbeat and his voice and she knows that we are with Papa again. She's gonna love him as much as I do, I just know it.

Belly Update

                                  Status: 7 months pregnant. Fucking huge.

Pregnancy in real life is not at all like the movies. There is no glow. Unless you are talking about the sweat which drips from my pimply face if I attempt to waddle more than 10 feet at a time. The morning sickness is gone at this point but no one ever told me about the migraine headaches, the heartburn, the complete inability to REMOVE THIS CHILD'S MOTHERFUCKING FOOT FROM MY RIBCAGE. I am *this close* to serving an eviction notice to the tenant in my belly.