The Happiest Place on Earth

For a while now, Gigi and I have been trying to figure out how to get away. Every weekend we think about turning off cell phones, piling into the car and driving away for a couple of days. We talk about it every week it seems, then the weekend comes and goes and we haven’t gone farther than Irvine. When Thanksgiving came and we had an extra day we decided that we weren’t going to go anywhere. We would just stay home, but we would do something fun to make it an a-typical weekend. We decided we would go to Disneyland! Lately Gigi had been telling me how “magical” Disneyland had sounded so it was a perfect thing to do. A good friend of ours (Hi Jim!) works for the park and graciously took time on his day off to lend a hand with the admission costs and warned us that the day after the holiday would likely be CROWDED. We were up to the challenge though and braved our way into California Adventure.

Gigi and I have always had different thoughts about Disneyland. She goes for the roller coasters (of which Disneyland has few of), and I go for the experience the park has to offer. This trip I was determined to show her the experience side of things. Especially since she is pregnant and there really aren’t too many rides we could even go on. We had about an hour before our dinner reservations so we took a little stroll through the Bugs Life area of California Adventure. I mentioned to Gigi that I loved the details like that the building that housed the restrooms was made to look like an upside down box of tissues and the signs for the rides were discarded plastic spoons. She gave me a weird look and said, “I don’t get it.” I gave her a weird look back and said, “Honey we are bugs in a bug world.” She looked around a bit and as she did her eyes got bigger and bigger, then her smile got bigger and bigger. “OH MY GOSH! You’re right!” Her eyes had been opened and from that point in the night she started realizing that Disneyland wasn’t all about the rides.

Thanks to our friend Jim, I know my way around the parks pretty well, and I dragged Gigi all over the park that night. Much to our surprise the park was EMPTY. The longest wait we had was for the Toy Story ride and that was only about 45 min. The rest of the rides we went on, we practically walked right to the front of the line. One of our favorite areas was in California Adventure. It had a netted suspension bridge, a rock-climbing wall, tire swing races (we didn’t do that, but it looked like a TON of fun), and a nature trail. We will definitely have to go back there when we are a bit more free to behave a little more recklessly.

As the night progressed, we realized exactly why the parks were empty; it was about 40 degrees out! Luckily, we dressed warm, but we never imagined it would get that cold. By 11 pm we were cold to the bone and ready to head home. As we walked back to the car we talked about how much fun the whole night was and how much we want to go back… soon! I had so much fun showing Gigi all the little things that make Disneyland fun for me and she had a ton of fun enjoying the park in a whole new way. Together we just enjoyed a night of goofing off together getting away from the same old thing. It was a much needed and much loved night out.

rounding second

Everyone and Their Mothers said it best. "you'll feel great during your second trimester." months ago, that was all i could think of, and even hope for. and i am BEYOND thankful that They were right!

month 6 is soon approaching (christmas day = 2/3 of this crazy journey down, 1/3 to go!). the past few months really have been much more pleasant than the first. for example, food tastes good again, sleeping seems to only be necessary at night, and nausea only makes itself known when i regretfully skip a meal. as a matter of fact, i feel so good so often, that a whole week will go by without me even noticing. so although i'm not constantly reminded that i'm pregnant because i'm feeling so good, the definition of the "second trimester" seems to be that OTHER people are realizing and being constantly reminded that i'm pregnant. i can no longer hide it...

josh and i will be walking the dog together, and a neighbor will come up and say, "oh, wow, when are you expecting?!" i have yet to respond with the awkward line of, "me? expecting? expecting what? do i look pregnant??? oh my goshhhhh, i look pregnant!! i'm not pregnant....!! (LONG PAUSE) just kidding, due in march!" i just can't get myself to take it there. but everytime we walk away from that person, josh shakes his head in disappointment and says, "bold. so bold. just TOO SOON, in my opinion." i often think he says that just to make me feel better (i'm definitely becoming self concious about my growing self...) but he seriously thinks people should NOT be guessing...in the mere case they are just way wrong. it's humorous to me, especially because it really gets him going sometimes.... hehe

the pants no longer zip. my regular tops are...phasing out. jackets don't button. and. AND. i bought a new bra today. :-/

i can ONLY IMAGINE what the next 3 months have in store for me.

They say it will be uncomfortable. They say i won't be able to see my toes. They say i won't want to walk anywhere or do anything. They say getting off the couch will be hard. They say i'll start waddling soon. and you know what? i don't doubt Them. They've been right so far.

so i'll raise my sparkling water glass to a solid 2nd trimester down, and do my best to welcome the upcoming third "semester", as my mom would call it--until it finally clicks and she decides to correct herself--with open arms.

oh, and baby j says hello from the depths of my tummy!! see, he/she is waving at you! :-)

--YUP, STILL NOT FINDING OUT THE SEX. RELAX, YA'LL. WE'LL KNOW SOON ENOUGH!--

(21 week ultrasound)