Big Bear -- Jeff's Bday

We went to Big Bear for Jeff's birthday and stayed at a great B&B. It was our first time at Big Bear, and it was really nice to escape suburbia and be in the trees. Here are some photos from the trip -- we realized that we didn't have any pictures of the two of us, so our B&B hostess took several for us.

updates

we're now into week 34 of the pregnancy, and things seem to be going pretty well. jeff started school last week, which means his schedule is getting busier, and i'm in the throes of teaching a summer class and trying to pull together a decent dissertation proposal draft. we've been trying to squeeze in time between work and birth classes to prepare the baby's room. we have finished going through boxes and boxes of not-so-memorable crap that i managed to accumulate over the past ten years (notebooks from undergrad, thick binders filled with papers from grad school part I, students' assignments and exams, etc., etc., etc.). the most interesting find was a gt article announcing the graduating class of 1998 -- i kept that one safely tucked away in my senior yearbook. we're hoping to finish the baby's room in the next two weeks or so since we're getting close to full-term and anything can happen...

we're also interviewing pediatricians and trying to figure out health insurance for the girl. while our student insurance is pretty good for us, it does not cover dependents, so we're looking to the state of california for help on that one. we met with one pediatrician yesterday and she seems like she may be a good fit for us. she's willing to be flexible with our thoughts on vaccinations, seems very approachable, and is a mother of two boys. we still have to interview one more next week and then we'll make our decision.

here are a couple of new pictures of me taken yesterday, after a long day of teaching and doctor's appointments -- notice i have not yet changed into jeff's clothes. i've also included a bonus picture of our back patio. jeff's nesting instincts have manifested in the form of decorating the patio; it's actually quite nice to be able to relax, read and eat outside now that we have two functioning chairs.

evie and the mysterious box

here's a video of evie checking out a huge box that appeared in our living room.

Week 33 belly shots

here's our latest installment of photos. we are a mere FOUR weeks away from 37 weeks (for those not in the know, that's considered full term). we're both pretty excited and apprehensive at the same time. we've been taking a childbirth class and a homestudy hypnobabies course. things seem to be going well, but i tend to fall asleep when i am supposed to be practicing hypnosis. hopefully this helps with labor pains...

i've been experiencing some third trimester discomforts, namely rib pain and numbness. i feel super big and pudgy right now too -- teaching a three-hour long class twice a week definitely takes a toll on my feet. the pudginess kind of sucks, and i'm hoping to not feel that way soon after giving birth.

i pretty much lounge around in jeff's clothes all day long, unless i'm supposed to leave the house. they're just much comfier than my own at this point. and p.s., there's bandage on my right thigh -- i had a small skin biopsy yesterday. what seemed like a benign wart suddenly changed texture. the doctor doesn't think it's a problem, but we removed it just in case.

boston

we spent the past several days in boston -- i attended a conference and jeff came out to meet me, so we made a mini vacation out of the trip. i've posted a few pictures here from the trip including one of me getting ready to attend a reception (belly in tow).

it's nice and strange to share the apartment with jeff again. i guess this is what happens when one lives on one's own for a while. evie is, of course, super happy and has not permitted us to sleep very well the past couple of nights. i suppose we have to take advantage of the next two months of just the two of us (plus evie) until the girl arrives.

i taught my first class yesterday and the students seem to be rather studious, which is surprising for summer session. i look forward to the next five weeks of teaching and all the other stuff i've been doing this summer. it's just going to keep getting busier...

one major excitement of this week (31) is that we've been able to feel limbs! we're still playing the guessing game figuring out which limbs are sticking out, but they definitely are limbs. pretty exciting!