Celebrating 28 Weeks and Christmas in LA!

We have been back 'home' in LA for the week, enjoying the holidays with Jenn's side of the family and our friends that we sadly left behind when we moved up north. :-) We were really fortunate to be able to see so many people we love while we have been in town. (Thanks to everyone for making time to see us, too!)

We were also able to sneak in one last visit to Disneyland, just the 'two' of us. As one of our favorite date spots, we really miss our regular, quick visits to the Happiest Place on Earth! We enjoyed wandering around and riding all of the rides (approved for mamas-to-be of course). While it was our last trip as a twosome, it was the baby's 1st visit! We really look forward to passing on our obsession to our kid(s) and we can't wait to experience the magic through their eyes. :-)

How far along? 28 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Don't know - haven't stepped on the scale this week, but it hadn't changed much last week. I'm back to not paying much attention to it.
Maternity clothes? Yup - although I'm going to need some longer shirts soon as I am starting to notice a draft on the underside of my stomach sometimes.... :-(
Stretch marks? None that I can see...so that means no, right?
Sleep: UGH. Well, I think a return to my magical Sleep Number 45 will help, but this week has been a little rough. However, without the dogs around, we've been enjoying sleeping in for probably the last time in our adult lives.
Best moment this week: Too many to choose from! Between seeing my family for Christmas, visiting with friends, and taking our last trip to Disneyland as a childless couple... we have had a great week!
Movement: While I can't seriously use the acronym usually, OMG comes to mind! I'm slightly convinced that the poor child has run out of room in there and is trying to get out. We (namely, my rib cage and I) have noticed a major change in the movement this past week. Joel has been able to feel (and see) plenty of activity, however the baby protested performing for Nana Claudette. Sorry Mom!
Food cravings: Cheese Bread! Just kidding...well, not really - we went to Northwoods Inn for dinner on our first night down in LA. Yum!
Gender: Believe it or not, we've still yet to figure it out! ;-) According to a long list of old wives tales we read online the other day, most signs point to boy.
Labor Signs: Nope....
Belly Button in or out? Again, neither....
What I miss: Being comfortable
What I am looking forward to: Someday being able to lay on my stomach or back again. Oh how I wish I could just sleep on my back some nights!
Weekly Wisdom: When pregnant at Disneyland, wear compression stockings! I think that's why I was so comfortable for most of the 12 hours we were there. Seriously! I couldn't believe how comfortable I was all day on my feet. I'm convinced that the improved circulation made a huge difference.
Milestones: Santa brought us the crib for Christmas! Woohoo! Baby Corcoran has some furniture! :-) Aside from that, more frequent and new movement. We think we can feel the head (or maybe the rump?) pressing into my side. For those of you who have never experienced growing a human in your belly, let me tell you, it's just lovely sometimes.

Current Projects: Clean out the nursery room.... yes I'm aware that I believe that was the current project a few weeks ago. We're REALLY going to get it done this time. Really!

27 Week Kisses

Some of you may have seen these pictures on Joel's photography blog, but since they are pretty cute, I had to post them over here too!


Here are the sweet Christmas kisses for the baby from Jack & Bridget.


























We are excited to welcome the New Year, knowing that in just a couple of months, we'll get to meet our little munchkin. 2010 will certainly be a big year for us!

25 Weeks and Freezing!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Literally - we've had highs in the low 40s lately with lows in the mid 20s at night. Yowzers! We even had a dusting of snow at our house Monday morning. Chilly willy.

Anyhow, we finally broke out the Christmas decorations. Joel took some festive pictures (which he also posted on his growing photo blog here) for this week. Speaking of Joel... we really need to get some pictures of HIM on here, huh? I'll be working on that. In the meantime, here is the 25 week update, complete with a new category in the usual survey.

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: About 22 pounds it appears. I got in trouble with the midwife, but everyone tells me if I feel good and the baby is on track, not to worry - so I'm not going to. I've been increasing my exercise and watching more of what I eat (have you ever checked Sodium content? HOLY COW!). I hadn't been allowed to really exercise for so long (I was on a mild form of bed rest for a couple months) that I got pretty sedentary and I think it caught up with me a little. Oh well I guess.
Maternity clothes? Yes. Once again... temperatures are dropping like crazy around here and I've had to take up wearing Joel's jackets, as mine are all pretty snug fits and no longer zip closed!
Stretch marks? Nada....and hoping my Palmer's Cocoa Butter lotion helps keep it that way
Sleep: I'm so grateful for our Sleep Number bed - I think it's made it much easier for me to stay comfortable throughout the nights. The flannel sheets don't hurt, either!
Best moment this week: The other night, the baby was doing some serious kicking/bouncing around. I thought maybe we could "see" it if we looked. I was right! Seconds after I told Joel to watch, the baby did a monster jump and my whole stomach moved. We were both laughing at how crazy it was! We saw a few more full tummy movements. It's so weird!
Movement: Yes, aside from the above example, he/she seems to think my uterus is a bounce house. During the relaxation part of my yoga class the other night, the kid kept doing some spastic move every time I took a deep breath. Kinda hard to relax with all that action going on sometimes!
Food cravings: Nothing too specific but I crave good home cooked meals. Sadly I also crave really not good for me take out food that I am trying to avoid.
Gender: The other day I told Joel I think it's a boy. Not really sure why. We'll see at some point!
Labor Signs: No thank you!
Belly Button in or out? Is neither an option? :-/ That's pretty much where we are now folks.
What I miss: Being able to get a better stretch in some yoga positions... I was a little surprised at how limiting the belly was during yoga. I haven't done yoga since pre-pregnancy so it was weird to go to do moves with this body that knew what to do, but couldn't quite manage.
What I am looking forward to: Baby showers and nursery decorating! Fun stuff!
Weekly Wisdom: Did you know that a Chipotle burrito covers the ENTIRE recommended daily intake of sodium??? One burrito! Boo. Of course, I'll still be eating there, but at least I'll keep in mind that if I don't want to have cankles at the end of the night... I'll at least be skipping the tortilla for now. Sheesh.
Milestones: Going to the gym and walking almost every night this week. Woo hoo for feeling like an able body again!

Current Projects: It's time to start clearing out the nursery - it currently has a LOT of scrapbook stuff, craft materials, fabric for burp cloths (yes, still making those, but have been on hiatus), sewing machine, and ironing board..... aka the random room of stuff.

An Eventful Thanksgiving Week

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this past weekend!

At the start of the week, we had a great visit from one of our very favorite people! One of Jenn's (and at this point, Joel's) best friends, Corie, came up to take full advantage of our teacher schedules (we both had the week off - alleluia!). We watched Cal beat Stanford (Go Bears!), enjoyed a drizzly morning at Apple Hill, cooked, shopped, and watched some movies. Corie is like family and we loved having her up for a visit again. Thanks for coming Cor!

On Thursday, we headed down to the Driscoll's house in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz) to celebrate with the rest of the Aymeric family (Joel's mom's side). As usual, it was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of food and laughs. Of course, with 26 people in the house, there is never a dull moment! Between the Rock Band competitions downstairs, the drummers in the living room, the "Second Life" demos from Kevin, and the endless Uno games with Sarah, Riley, & Allison, the baby got a (surely muffled and quieter) taste of life in with the Aymeric clan. :-) Thanks again to Kevin & Andrea for hosting, and to everyone for the delicious Thanksgiving dinners (yes, plural)!

On Saturday, the pups headed back to Grandma Emilie & Grandpa Ken's house for the night so that we could attend Joel's 10 year high school reunion (from Lafayette's Acalanes) in San Francisco. We met up with a few of Joel's closest friends and headed to the party at Sinbad's on the Embarcadero. They had a pretty good turn out and it turned out to be a lot of fun after all! After a restful night at Casa de Barbera in Lafayette (Thanks for the pancakes Diane!), we finally headed home.

Yesterday, we went to see the Nutcracker with Riley, Allison, Kelly, Ken, & Emilie, and then to dinner to celebrate Joel's birthday a day early. #29!!! Happy Birthday Joel!!!

Here are a couple of pictures from our week of fun....

Speaking of pictures... Joel has made some updates on his blog. Be sure to become a follower over there, too!

23 Week Update

Here is the latest at 23 weeks:

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: After 2 Thanksgiving dinners??? You're kidding right? ;-)
Maternity clothes? Yes, and constantly feeling like I need to get more to accommodate the growing belly and dropping temperatures. Sorry Joel.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Yes! I've been sleeping much better, even though the middle of the night bathroom breaks are back in full swing.
Best moment this week: Too many to choose from! Between having Corie in town, enjoying the holiday, and visiting with the "Spice Girls" - there is no way to pick a 'best' moment. :-) (See the next post for details on our fun week!)
Movement: Oh yes - Baby Corcoran seems to either be having a dance party or thinks that he or she is in a bounce house!
Food cravings: Loving big glasses of milk these days. Yum!
Gender: Pick a team or place your bets! We've heard that the Waltons all think it's a girl while some friends and co-workers are sure it's a boy. Everyone has a 50-50 chance of being right!
Labor Signs: No, March will come soon enough!
Belly Button in or out? In....still in.....barely.
What I miss: Well, I haven't had much drinking around me in the past couple months, but with the holiday and party season in full swing, I am missing a good glass of wine or champagne from time to time!
What I am looking forward to: Nesting.... I've been cooking a lot, but the organizing and cleaning bugs have yet to take over. But, I do love to organize and clean (when motivated) so I am actually excited to get going on some projects around the house.
Weekly Wisdom: Make sure you have a pregnant friend or wife around for your high school reunion. I hear they make great designated drivers. :-)
Milestones: According to our weekly Pregnancy email updates, we have graduated from the size of a large mango to an ear of corn. Oh, and the lungs have developed, too. Pretty crazy!

22 Weeks

This whole trimester has been flying by! We can't believe how quickly the 2nd Trimester is moving along. Thankfully, I've been fairly comfortable and feeling great. Joel and I are working on eating healthily and making our meals at home. Our Bradley instructor gave us some homework to pay closer attention to what we are eating. In doing so, we really noticed how much sodium is in everything - yikes! So, we've been spending more time planning and making meals ourselves. It's been great and we are enjoying the added benefit of saving some money in the process!

Here is the obligatory belly picture for the week. Enjoy! :-)

Here's the latest:

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Again...not keeping track. I'll update at my next appointment in December!
Maternity clothes? Of course. With Parent-Teacher conferences this week, I had to scramble to find some nicer dress pants to wear. Thankfully, the Gap carries some of their maternity pants in "long" in the stores, saving me the trouble of having to order online and rush shipping!
Stretch marks? None that I have noticed still.
Sleep: Getting a little better. Once I quit trying to use all of the pillows everyone says I should be using for support, it freed up the space in the bed for me to get comfortable and actually sleep. Now if I could just get myself to GO to bed sooner.... :-(
Best moment this week: The other night, the little one was being rather active. Joel had tried to feel the baby moving around a few times but usually - any time he does, the baby stops moving! (I hope he has that kind of effect on the munchkin when he/she is OUT of the womb, too!) Anyhow, I told him to try again as we were falling asleep and the baby did not disappoint! It was really cool to be able to share that with him!
Movement: Yes! We have a gymnast/soccer player/diver/circus performer in the making. The other night I swear this kid was turning somersaults in there. These days, I feel movement throughout the day. Baby Corcoran is most active in the evenings when I'm settling down for the night. Figures. ;-)
Food cravings: Well...I did go to In-n-Out today...you know, "for the baby". At least I tell myself that. I have however been cramming in the protein this past week - it's not easy to get 80-100mg of protein every single day!
Gender: Still no results there. I did try the "kick once if you're a boy, twice if you're a girl" suggestion, but apparently he or she was not interested in participating in my game. Oh well.
Labor Signs: Still none of those - let's keep it that way for awhile please!
Belly Button in or out? Still in!!! Flattening out...but in!
What I miss: I miss being able to lean forward and do things easily. Sometimes I go to do something and my big belly gets in the way and foils my plan. It will also be nice to sleep however I wish someday. Someday....many days away I'm sure. Like when the kids are in college, right? *sigh*
What I am looking forward to: Our friend Corie is visiting this coming weekend and I can't wait for that. I'm also really excited for the holiday season. It's my favorite time of year!
Weekly Wisdom: Take "the rules" with a grain of salt. Last week for example, I heard another "no-no" that was pretty over the top: No Cheerios!!! (Apparently, there is a concern over TSP?!) Well...since every woman I know has reacted the same way, I'm not going to worry about it. I mean really...Cheerios??? Everything in moderation....
Milestones: I am actually fitting into some of the larger sized maternity clothes I have been fortunate enough to borrow from some friends/family. Up until recently, I looked like I was wearing a tent - now things fit more comfortably.

Pssssst....

Be sure to check out the new link at the top of the Links I Love list on the right side of the page below. I'm not the only one with a blog in this family now! Joel is really developing his photography skills and already has a a few more photo shoots in the works. I'm so proud of him!

Today is also our old "dating anniversary". Hard to believe we've officially been together for 8 years. :-) Happy Anniversary Turbo - I Love You!