First Braxton-Hicks contraction & 33 weeks

I had my first Braxton-Hicks contractions on Saturday night. Josh and I were at our friends Matt and Jamie's house playing cards, and at about 10:30 p.m. I said, "I feel funny." I had been craving lemonade for weeks and Matt and Jamie happened to have some (yes!) so I had a big glass with dinner. At first I thought the acidity from the lemonade or dinner was not sitting well with me. Then after a few seconds, my whole stomach got really tight and hard and uncomfortable. "I think I'm having a contraction," I told them. Then Jamie described perfectly what I was feeling. I'm so glad she was there. I'd like to think I would have figured it out eventually, but it was so good to have a friend and three-time mom there to reassure me. The guys were interested at first, and then they realized all our talking and bonding was infringing upon card time, haha!

It last several minutes, and then came back about 10 minutes later but not quite as long or intense. I felt really warm and prickly afterward, like I was having a hot flash. Jamie assured me that was normal, too. :)

I didn't have any contractions yesterday. For the past three or four weeks, my pregnancy book/journal asks you to indicate whether or not you've had any contractions, and I haven't had any, so it's kind of cool to be able to say "yes" now, and know what they feel like.

Donovan is 33 weeks as of yesterday and should be about 4 lbs and 17 inches long. I've been a little more uncomfortable lately as I've definitely "popped" now and I have to sit tall and elongated so that my ribs don't tempt Donovan to play the harp with them with his feet or so they don't dig into my ever-expanding uterus. Had some mid- and lower back pain and sciatica pain this week. I'm so blessed that I'm just barely starting to experience the major discomforts of pregnancy...but it's going to be a long seven more weeks, haha!

32 Weeks!

Can you believe we are less than eight weeks away from meeting Donovan?!! I can't wait! Well...yes I can, because there's lots to do yet to prepare for our little prince's arrival. At our 30-week check-up and sonogram, Donovan's head was already down, which is great!

He's definitely taking up more and more real estate in my tummy (he is about 3.75 lbs. and 16.7 inches long and should gain about a half a pound per week in the next seven weeks...ouch for momma!) and moving lots and lots. It's fun to watch my stomach warp and move as he kicks and turns. I'm feeling a bit more pressure on my back and against my ribs at times. But it's all worth it. :)

San Diego Baby Shower

My heart overflows with gratitude (or is that the shortness of breath from Donovan pushing increasingly on my ribs and diaphram? hehehehe).

Thank you, Grammy Sue, for throwing us such a cool shower at your home in San Diego! We loved the beach them with the monkeys on surfboards literally hanging from the rafters! Everything was so adorable and perfect.

Thank you Mom, Adeena, Sherri, Darah, Stacy, and Willy for all your help! And thank you to the rest of my family, friends, and neighbors who came to celebrate this blessing with us and shower Baby Donovan with awesome gifts. (Peggy wins the award for furthest distance traveled, coming all the way from Alpine. Thank you Peggy!!) You all are such gifts in our lives, and Josh and I are extremely grateful.

Donovan's Nursery

Josh and I knew that whether we had a boy or a girl, we wanted to do a modern, eclectic surf theme in the baby's room. We both love the beach, and now that we live a little further away from it than we did when we lived in San Diego, we wanted our baby to experience the joy of the ocean, sun, and sand...a little closer to home. We hope that Donovan loves his room--and surfing as much as his Daddy does!

Above: The photo above the mirrored closet doors is from one of Josh's surfing magazines that I cut and have been saving for almost two years now. It's a photo of an English Bull Dog (one of Josh's favorite breeds) chewing on a fin of a surfboard. We kept it knowing it would be so cute framed and put in our baby's room someday.

I want to thank Josh and my little sister Yoli for helping me paint the baby's room a couple of months ago! Thank you to Grammy SuSu and Papa for picking up this awesome Pottery Barn furniture I found on Craigslist for CHEAP in San Diego!
Above: A neat little art piece that Josh spotted when we were in Kauai last month. The cool thing is that 1.) we got it in the place we took our honeymoon; our favorite island in Hawaii, and 2.) it depicts a Hawaiian daddy surveying the surf with his boy.

Above: The triptych mural on the wall is a painting that our friend Daniel Furukawa did for the baby. We love it! We gave Daniel a few photos of what we had in mind and he took it to a whole other level! Written on the lip of the wave are the words "I have loved you with an everlasting.... love." "Love" is embedded in the sun. This a scripture from Jeremiah 31:3 in the Bible.

Above: I found these birds on my trip to Israel in May, in the heart of Jerusalem. The onesies I spotted in the gift shops throughout the trip were cute, but I knew Donovan would outgrow one fast, and I really wanted him to have something from the Holy Land that would really last forever. Josh and I fashioned them into a mobile we hung above the changing table.

Donovan thanks you for checking out his room! :)

Nearly 30 weeks!

I can't believe I've only got 10 weeks to go before I get to meet my son! It's amazing how much I love him and I haven't even met him yet. According to the books, at 29.5 weeks he's about 2.75 lbs. now, and his movements are so strong and distinct! The flutters have turned into full on belly-warping activity and Beckham-like kicks. I can definitely feel when he's pushing his head or butt up or turning, and I have felt limbs. He stills wakes up and does a slightly more restricted "happy dance" whenever I eat. We haven't seen hands and feet on the surface of my skin yet, as some people describe.

Strangers are able to tell I'm pregnant now, which is cool, but say I'm so small for seven months. At least I know that they don't think I've just got a gut, haha! My belly button is still an "inny," but I'm sure Donovan will take care of that soon!

Josh and I can't wait to see our little guy. We are also cherishing these last two and a half months we have of it being just the two of us, but we talk and dream about what he will be like and how our lives are going to be different.

I thank the Lord every day for this miracle and His amazing blessings. For me, there's no denying His presence and His goodness and His hand in our lives. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139:13-14

Donovan's cousin Sienna's Music Video Premiere

Aloha, baby!

Josh and I went with Norm and Sue to Kauai a couple of weeks ago for a relaxing little vacation. It was neat because our honeymoon was in Kauai nearly five years ago (our wedding anniversary is August 23) and I never thought we'd be back with a bun in the oven and with Josh's parents getting to show them a few of our favorite places! We stayed in a condo right on the water near Poipu (South shore) where sea turtles swam up to the rocks every evening. I just had to buy Donovan a little sea turtle stuffed animal to go with his beach themed room and to remind him one day that he was in Kauai with Mommy and Daddy!

Baby is 29 weeks today and I am officially in my seventh month of pregnancy and loving it!