It's ok; we can laugh about it now.

Dear Hayley,

I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you, once again, how awesome your father is. You see, a few weeks ago your mama turned 25. Now, before we go too far in this story I should tell you I'm pretty awesome, too. Your father turned 25 a few years ago and I surprised him by waking him very early in the morning, telling him to pack a bag for the weekend, and walking him outside to a van full of our friends. We then drove to Disneyland and had a great time. If you ever ask your dad someday in the future about his 25th birthday, do mama a favor and be sure not to ask him about his feet, ok?

Anyway, back to MY 25th. I knew your father had something planned, but I had no clue as to what it was. In fact, your dad wanted to keep this a surprise so bad he didn't tell a single person for fear I'd figure it out. I slowly started learning some details as the date neared: we were going somewhere cold and we had to wake up REALLY early to catch our flight. Once we arrived at the airport I was told we weren't flying direct, so I wouldn't know where we were truly going for another few hours. We boarded our flight to Phoenix and started our trip.Once in Phoenix we rushed to our next flight and that's when I found out: we were headed to Detroit! As soon as I found this out, I knew what the plan was. Your dad was apparently paying excellent attention all of these years when I talked about wanting to see the Sharks play in other arenas as well as wishing he would plan a trip since I love to travel so much. When we landed in Detroit I looked out the window and was delighted to see a bunch of beautiful snow all over the place. In fact, this might just be the first time I'd been in snow since I visited your dad in Boston many years ago.

We made our way to our hotel and this is when I learned that Detroit is REALLY stinkin' close to Canada. Your mama's never been too great with geography. We could see Canada from out our window, just across the river, and based on how much you were moving around I think you were waving to our friends up north right along with me!
After a quick lunch and rest, we bundled up and took Detroit's monorail, called the People Mover, to the Joe Louis Arena. "The Joe" is the home of the Detroit Red Wings.It was amazing to walk around the arena and look at all of the memorabilia.
I can't help but hope that one day you'll be grown up and walk into the Shark Tank and see a few of these banners in the rafters.
However, with the way the game ended up I'm not so sure. The Sharks lost 6-0 and I could do nothing but laugh. You see, a few years ago we went and watched the Sharks play the Phoenix Coyotes and it was an absolute massacre. They lost 8-0 that time. I'm starting to think maybe we shouldn't go see the Sharks play out of town anymore.

That night we went back to our hotel room and started to watch the Weather Channel. You see, a rather large snow storm was headed our way and we had plans to head home the next morning, on my actual birthday. When we woke up on December 19 we looked out the window and all we could see was a blanket of white. Our flight wasn't cancelled, or even delayed, so we packed up and went to meet a taxi for the drive to the airport. I'm not going to lie, it was by far the worst car ride I've ever been on. I mean, we had to take an on ramp and were delayed because a big rig was stuck in the snow. If they were stuck, how were WE going to make it?? There may have been a few scared tears, I really can't say for sure.

By 9 a.m. there had been 6 inches of snowfall. Our flight was at 11something so we crossed our fingers.
We got to the airport and they were doing their best to keep flights moving. We boarded on time and were only delayed because they had to de-ice the plane. Between the delay and the terrible nose wind, we missed our connecting flight in Phoenix but were able to get seats on a flight to San Francisco.You father felt really bad, thinking he'd ruined my birthday considering the horrible loss at the hockey game and the terrible travel day we had, but you know what? It was still pretty much the coolest birthday gift I've ever received. Your dad put a lot of effort into this trip and it still amazes me that he took the time to do so. He's a great man, that father of yours. I can't wait for you to meet him.

Love,
Mama

I'm going to brag here for a second.

So, last night I was thinking that I needed to post about how I totally deserve a cookie for the fact that I actually shaved my legs while 33 weeks pregnant. Trust me, it was no small feat.

BUT THEN, I went to the doctor for a check up* and had my dreaded weigh in. This weigh in is the first since my last appointment 3 weeks ago, which means it was before my birthday, Christmas and New Years. I was not looking forward to it. I stepped on the scale, ready to cry, to learn I only gained THREE measly pounds! I almost kissed the nurse.

So, I think I'll have a side of french fries with my cookie, if you don't mind.
----------------------------

*The check up went well. Hayley is measuring 34-35 weeks which may mean she'll be here sooner than we thought, though they haven't officially moved up my EDD. I had a feeling they were more on track with my original EDD (2/13) so we'll see how it goes. Hayley is positioned head down which is good news. My total weight gain is 23 pounds, my blood pressure still looks good and there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. I took another blood test to check on my thyroid and iron levels and we'll find out in a few weeks how I'm responding to those treatments. Pretty much, I'm lucky to be having an easy pregnancy and Hayley continues to be the epitome of little fetus perfection! :)

It's beginning to look like a baby lives here

Hayley's nursery is complete! At least, the parts that can be seen. We're still missing a few things, but it's basically done. And boy (or should I say girl?) is it cute. We've got lots of great decorations on the walls and shelves, her crib is ready to go, and even the bed for sleepy parents is looking nice. Note the many international touches throughout (namely of French and Irish origin). Also, bonus points if you can spot the mistake in the room.



(The above picture is from before Xmas, the below picture shows the most recent additions.)





(Again, above picture is from before Xmas, below is after.)

Did you see that?!?

Hayley has been very active lately and she's starting to form a fairly reliable schedule. She gets active around 5:30 every morning and doesn't settle down until I eat breakfast. The longer I wait to eat, the more she kicks. She's maybe, just a tad, impatient. I haven't a clue who she could have gotten that from. She acts up again around lunch time and again calms down once I eat. In the evening she's all over the place from about 5 on. Geoff reads to her every night around 9 or 9:30. If he's much later than 9:30, she has a little fit and kicks A LOT until he starts. It's the sweetest little temper tantrum I've ever seen.

Yes, SEEN. Hayley has grown so much that she's strong enough for it to be visible when she moves/kicks/punches inside my tummy. Most of the time it feels sort of like an involuntary movement, like a muscle spasm, but sometimes she'll do a little belly flop which can be really uncomfortable for a moment. Just recently I've been able to feel her drag a foot or hand along my stomach, which is a very odd feeling.

I can't help but love this new development. Often times I break out into giggles over it, as if she's tickling me, and I feel like such a proud mama. I love that Geoff can feel/see her movements consistently. I like to sort of show her off; I'm so proud of her. She has a little personality and attitude that is becoming apparent and it's so amazing to finally grasp that there is a real, live, little human in their. A little human that happens to be our beautiful daughter.

Most of all, I just love the constant reminder that I'm carrying my little buddy around with me.

Hayley's first (in utero) Halloween

Friday night we celebrated Halloween at Marsha's house, as usual. Stephen's "haunted house" (it's really just A Nightmare Before Christmas come to life now) was his best yet. I had lots of candy but Miranda limited herself to some mini M&Ms (for Hayley, of course). Aunt Kati was there, too, with her BF and another friend. There were some good costumes, but I have to say ours were the best. Check us out:



Yes, we're a baker and the devil. In case you're not quite sure why I went as a baker, perhaps my bakery logo (made by none other than the devil you see above) will explain it:



See, cuz I've got a bun. In the oven. Right now. Get it?

Miranda's pregnant.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to next year when we actually get to dress up our little girl. It will be hard to settle on a costume though. Maybe we'll just get a bunch and keep changing her costume throughout the night.

I hope everyone else had a fun Halloween this year! Here's another pic, just for giggles: