And the big news is … my little sister is engaged! Congratulations Sophia and Edgar! I don’t have all the details since I was in LA when Eddie proposed, but will update this post once I get more photos and the video tape.
3+ carats … I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much diamond in my life. Maybe in a museum.
Last weekend, I met up with Jenny and Dana (and their kids) at the annual Intel carnival. There were lots of games, a pony ride, a petting zoo, 2 bounce houses, and vendors selling crafts.
The only downside was the heat … over 100″F. After the carnival, Dana and I went out for lunch.
During the week, my extended team at work had a catered picnic at the lake. And then, it was off to Los Angeles – a 7 hour drive. Sad to say, but we had to make more potty breaks for me than Zachary. We stayed at my grandparent’s house and they even babysat Zachary for 6+ hours while James and I attended a wedding!
To thank them, we tried to take them out for dinner on the last day, but I sent James to pay the bill and due to the language barrier, Grandma was able to convince the waitress to let her pay. So … um… thanks for babysitting, and letting us stay for 4 nights, and for numerous meals!
Here’s a summary of our Los Angeles adventure …
Day 1: Arrived! 
Day 2: Went shopping since we realized how much colder it was compared to Sacramento! Luckily Babystyle and Janie/Jack had major sales. In the evening, went to Jenny and Brian’s wedding. Awesome detail: it was dinosaur themed. 
Congratulations Jenny and Brian! *
I could barely recognize Jenny’s sister Joanne – I think the last time I saw her, she was ~12 years old. She was a total tomboy .. athletic build, no makeup, boyish hairstyle. I was completely shocked and impressed – I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear a dress …she looked great!
The ceremony was in a rose garden and the weather was perfect … cool and refreshing, but no rain. The reception was in a museum! So while the families were getting pictures taken, you could grab a drink at the bar, eat appetizers, and view dinosaur exhibits.
The touches of dinosaurs I found (I may have missed some) … dinosaurs on the table place cards, a topiary (that Jenny made herself), 2 chocolate dinosaurs nestled in M&Ms as the wedding favor, and plastic dinosaur figurines hidden in the centerpiece vases.
The dinner was excellent – they had 3 buffet stations, all with different types of food. And there was a 4th station – a dessert bar with Haagen-Daz ice cream and tons of fresh fruit.
It was pretty neat, seeing a friend I’ve known since kindergarten get married … and better yet, to a guy that shares so many of her same interests. I wonder if he can beat her in Trivia Pursuit ….
Day 3: California Adventure – not sure if it’s because of the weather or recession, but it was really empty. Everyone warned us about going Memorial Day weekend, but the longest line we waited in was 30 minutes … most were 5-10 minutes. True to our nature, we got there when it opened and left at closing time.
Zachary was booted from ‘Soaring Over California’ for being less than 1 inch too short. He was really bummed and kept insisting he was tall enough- but the Disney line police were experienced and caught on to his tiptoe ‘trick’. We went on all the rides he was qualified to get on. (Note to other parents: 40″ is a key height to reach to get on rides) We also saw all the shows (minus the Whoopi Goldberg one), played on all the non-water play structures, and of course, we stayed for the Electric Parade. Second side note: Disney is a lot more lax about letting pregnant women go on rides compared to Marine World (see below picture of me on the Golden Zephyr). Final side note: In our experience single rider is even faster than FastPass; James went on 3 rides himself and it was like jumping to the front of the line.
Day 4: We went to visit James’ sister in Manhattan Beach. We had breakfast at their house and then the boys played outside. Zachary really liked cousin Brandon’s motorized Jeep! In the afternoon, we took Zachary and Brandon to Wahoo’s for lunch, and then a small aquarium.
They also ran around the beach. The cousins get along well because Brandon is a natural leader and Zachary loves to follow. They’re only 8 months apart in age (Brandon is older in case it wasn’t obvious.)
Day 5: Drove back home … one stop for lunch/gas/restroom. Dreading going back to work and trying to catch up on email …. 
On the bright side, Calista (baby #2) will be decked out in girl clothes. Now, I have no problem with gender neutral clothes, BUT if I’m getting sent girly items, who am I to deny her? My friend Cass sent me a huge box of 6-12 months clothes in excellent condition right before we left for LA… brands like Gymboree, RLauren, Carters, and Hanna. The day I got back, my friend Jane sent me a package … 6 new Carter’s outfits in tiny newborn size! YEA!
And just because I have some space, 2 misc Zachary pictures. He sleeps with this giant worm because he’s afraid to fall out of bed. Before James came up with the worm idea, one of us had to stay with him until he fell asleep. I have to admit that 4 years ago, when my friend Craig sent me the worm as a baby shower gift, I wanted to throttle him … but I graciously thanked him through clenched teeth. We lived in a 1900 sq ft home and there was no space for it. Plus, I’m sure the worm was not cheap, and I felt the money could have been better spent on say, 100 packs of diapers. Now, the worm is priceless, as it allows me or James to stay up past 8pm. Of course, I do wonder if a blow up doll would have served the same purpose but with improved storability and a much lower price.
*More congratulations are in order, but waiting for that person to post before I do.
This week, my team at work spent an afternoon volunteering at St. John’s Shelter for Women and Children. We sorted through donated clothes in their warehouse.
In terms of pregnancy, I had another doctor’s appointment this week (week 29.) Baby’s heartrate ranged from 145-150. I was up 3lbs from my last appointment … 167lbs for a total weight gain of 24lbs. My last red blood count was low (25) so I had to get yet another blood draw to check that is hasn’t dropped any further. My doctor also told me that barring any complications, my last day of work is July 2nd … so just 6-7 weeks left!
Week 28 and week 29.
And last, but not least … Happy Birthday Dad!
So the Bay Area was the first part of our week off from work. They day after we got back, I took Zachary to play at Bounceopolis … it was only $8 all day! These are the places I never get to take Zachary because they are always closed for birthday parties on weekends.
The next morning (Wednesday), we flew to Las Vegas. The flight was a little over an hour, and since Zachary’s 4 yrs old, we didn’t even bring a stroller. It was so easy to travel with him. He even knew to take off his shoes at the security checkpoint. We stayed at Mandalay Bay after reading about their pools … they had a big wave pool, a lazy river, and numerous regular pools. They even had an area with sand! We played on their ‘beach’ at least 2-3 hours every day.
Day 1: Flew in at ~1pm. Swam at Mandalay Bay, walked around NewYork NewYork, and saw ‘Tournament of Kings’ at Excaliber. We chose the 8:30pm show, which retrospectively was a mistake since Zachary’s normal bedtime is 8pm. He was pretty tired and didn’t enjoy the show as much as I thought he would. He was also exposed to numerous new weapons. On the positive side, we got front row seats … so uh, yea … he got a really clear view of the weapons.
Day 2: Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay … probably the highlight of the trip for Zachary, M&M exhibit/3D movie at Showtime, and the lion exhibit at MGM Grand. We had a lunch buffet at Luxor and ended the day back at the pool/beach.
Day 3: Hung out at the pool during the morning. Then, walked up and down the strip. Stopped at Paris for a buffet lunch, saw the fountain show outside the Bellagio (where Zachary was more interested in the ducks paddling around), window shopped and walked around the conservatory at Bellagio, and saw the statue show at the Caeser forum shops (1 of them, the main one was under reconstruction). Ended the day with dinner back at our hotel.
Day 4: Breakfast buffet at Mandalay Bay and then flew back home!
The day after we got back was Mother’s Day. James took me and his mom out to a buffet brunch, while his dad watched Zachary at home. When I picked up the mail, I received a copy of my baby shower/celebration invitation. (While I don’t need any gifts, it’s nice that someone is putting in the effort to throw me a party!) And when I checked email, I got pictures of my cousin Jerry and Britt’s new baby boy Corbin! Congratulations - and Happy belated Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
We just got back from a 3-day trip to the Bay Area. On the way down, we went to Zeum, which is a hands-on multimedia museum for kids.
Zachary had a lot of fun – he really enjoyed the Lego and Colorforms wall, and making patterns on the computer. He also liked claymation, but needed our help. The focus of this museum is imagination; such as creating your own storyline and acting it out … I think a 6-9 yr old would get the most out of it. And it would also help to have a group of kids.
On Sunday, my sisters and one of their friends joined us on our trip to Monterey. We went to the aquarium (Zachary loves fish!) and then to Bubba Gumps for dinner (Zachary loves free crackers!).
At the aquarium, Zachary was mesmerized by the fish and was so excited to see hammerhead sharks! I was most impressed by the jellyfish exhibit. Zachary also got to touch 2 different kinds of starfish and play in the water (which resulted in a tantrum since there were fewer plastic fish than kids.) We saw the penguins and kelp forest fish get fed.
Since Sophie’s birthday is the 17th, we also gave her presents – an SPF 50 swim top for scuba diving, a Sonicare toothbrush, and a glass measuring cup. As you probably guessed, there is no real theme – just picked out items from her Amazon wish list that added up to the ‘right’ price. Happy (early) 27th Birthday Sophie!
Monday, we were planning to go to Santa Cruz, but it was pretty chilly so we headed back. We stopped by the Exploritorium on the way home, but it was closed on Mondays. We ended up checking out the Nut Tree amusement park instead. It was a fun little park for kids … I would say best for kids 2-6 yrs old. Zachary rode on 12 rides … and wanted to go on more, but we had to get back on the road to avoid rush hour traffic.
Thanks to Eddie and Sophie for letting us stay with them this weekend!
As a side note, if you don’t have a DVD in your car … your child will likely talk and sing throughout the drive. If you have an only child, you’ll probably hear a lot of monologues. We realized that we often stay until a park closes based on Zachary’s monologue:
“It is dark. But the dolphins are still jumping. It is black dark. There are black fish, but you can’t see them because they are the same color. <pause…> Sorry, come again soon.”
26 weeks… I passed the gestational diabetes test (yea!). Baby’s heart rate ranged from the 130s to 150s; I wondered if it was my caffeine intake, but my doctor assured me that it was normal for the heartrate to go up and down. I don’t recall that with Zachary. Weight was 164lbs; up 21 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. My weight gain delta is trending almost exactly the same as my previous pregnancy. In terms of not-so-great news, my blood count is very low (25, not sure what the normal range is…), so I’ll be in for another blood draw/test in 4 weeks. I’ve had a number of blood draws already and it seems my count keeps dropping. My doctor is considering a transfusion. I hope not!
We took some family pictures despite my bloated face. And since this is our last baby, we ended up getting pregnancy portraits to hang up in our master bedroom.
Week 27 … Starting the 3rd trimester … Wow! My appointment cadence is now every 2 weeks instead of 4. I’m starting to get some feet swelling and mild braxton hicks.
