IT'S A GIRL!!!

Say hello to Hailey Makena Tune!!

We had SO MUCH FUN getting at our ultrasound today!! I can't believe how different the baby looks from the first ultrasound. It was so awesome to get to see all the different body structures: tiny fingers and toes, the four chambers of the heart, the little nose and mouth! Unfortunately, she is a modest little thing and had her legs crossed at the ankles THE WHOLE TIME!! I tried everything to get her to show us the goods, including jumping up and down, jiggling my tummy, pushing against my uterus, and drinking juice. Bryan even got next to my belly and told her to open her legs, just this once (haha!). FINALLY, she opened up a little and the ultrasound tech was finally able to declare "GIRL!" We are both SO EXCITED, we thought it was a girl all along but it's so incredible to know! Now instead of saying "it" and "baby" all the time, we can say "her" and "Hailey"!! I instantly feel closer to her after getting to see her on the screen...she's not just a vague idea of a baby anymore, she's my daughter!!

(p.s. Joanna, does this mean I get to join the IBFC??)

Iguanas and Turtles and Stingrays, Oh My!!

We're baaa-aack!! What a FANTASTIC vacation!! Grand Cayman is one of the most amazingly beautiful places we've ever been!

We stayed at the Marriott resort on 7 Mile Beach, which is a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach with sparkling turquoise water that looks like a picture straight out of a calendar. We spend a good part of the trip stationed on lounge chairs, soaking up the sun, and having drinks delivered to us (virgin daiquiris for me, naturally). It was exactly the relaxing trip we were looking for.

We did manage to tear ourselves away from our lounge chairs long enough to do some exploring. One day we rented a car and decided to check out the rest of the island. Just driving was an adventure in itself since the steering wheel is on the right side of the car and they drive on the left. I left that job to Bryan and settled for being navigator. Our first stop on our tour was at a little patio cafe on the beach. Bryan and I just looked at each other in amazement throughout the entire meal because the beach was SO INCREDIBLE!!

After lunch we went to Boatswains Turtle Farm, which turned out to be one of the coolest things we've ever done! The Turtle Farm breeds endangered sea turtles and tracks and studies them once they are released back into the ocean. We learned all about their program and some interesting facts about the turtles themselves. The best part about the tour? You get to hold the turtles!!! After the turtles, we made our way to the other side of the island to check out Rum Point (which turned out to be basically a tourist trap). We also attempted to check out downtown George Town, but we were out of luck because the whole town shuts down at 5:30pm!! If you're a party animal, this is definitely not the island for you.

On our last full day on the island, we had another amazing experience when we went on a snorkel excursion to the Stingray Sandbar. The water is waist high and the stingrays are super friendly (which could have something to do with the fact that all the boats bring food to bribe them to hang out there). As long as you keep your feet on the sand, you are in no danger of them stinging you. The guides from our boat held one of the stingrays for us and we got to take turns holding them and giving them a "kiss" (for photo purposes only, no actual lip to stingray contact occurred). It was so cool to stand in the beautiful water as the stingrays swam around our legs, we couldn't believe we were actually there! The boat also took us to the barrier reef and the coral gardens, where we saw colorful fish and even a giant green eel. It was an incredible day!!

We had such a wonderful time on this trip and knowing it was our last big trip before we become parents made us appreciate it even more!

Halfway!

I am officially 20 weeks pregnant, which means I am halfway to a baby!!

At the risk of jinxing myself, I must say that I have been EXTREMELY lucky with this pregnancy so far.

Here's a quick recap of the first 5 months of the belly journey:

• NO PUKING!! No nausea at all! Thank god!! (considering I get nauseous just looking at a mode of transportation, I was convinced that I was going to spend the first three months with my head inside a toilet bowl)


• I managed to make it all the way through winter without having to buy any maternity clothes, which means only 1 season worth of spending money!


• I have been consciously trying to make healthier food choices for the baby (and my only craving so far has been fruit) so I've only gained 3 lbs so far. I'm sure I'll be packing it on during the second half of the pregnancy so I'm glad I didn't go crazy during the first half.


• Sleeping has become a little bit more uncomfortable... I'm normally a stomach sleeper and that just aint happenin' anymore.


• I have had a HUGE knot in my back for the past 2 months that I think is finally starting to go away.


• Everyone says I'm "glowing". I don't know if this is true or not, but I am definitely smiling a lot. I am so happy to be having a baby and become a mom that I am enjoying every moment along the way!

Bryan and I leave Monday night for Grand Cayman for our last trip as a family of 2. We are so excited to be taking this trip to enjoy each other and relax before our lives are full of bottles, diapers, and playdates! It will also provide quite a nice distraction while we wait for our next ultrasound to find out if we are having a girl or boy!!!

So let's have a little more audience participation...what do YOU think we're having??

(p.s. Ask and you shall receive Joanna! :) )

Double Dog Dare

So, my friend Joanna and I discovered during our trip to San Diego that we might just be long lost twins separated at birth. Aside from the fact that we were born a few years apart, we have a crazy number of random things in common, and we just keep coming up with more! The latest thing to be added to the list is that we were both in the Colorguard in high school, although my school called it Drill Team. (However, if you recall this post, ours was a dance and flag team, so whenever I refer to it these days I drop the "flag" and put more emphasis on the "dance" because, let's face it...flag team, not so much what you would call "cool." )

When Joanna found out that I, too, was in the Colorguard, she double dog dared me to post a picture. Fortunately (for me) the only picture I have of myself on our team is from my Senior yearbook, which was the year we got a cool coach and threw out the traditional sparkly sequined costumes for something a little trendier (and apparently sluttier...whose idea was it to have crop tops as part of the uniform??). I'm sure my mom has TONS of pictures of me in spandex and sequins, but alas, this is the best I could do.

And just for fun (and to up my geek quotient even more) here is a picture of me in costume in the dressing room when I was Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. That's right, I was on the Drill Team AND I was a Drama nerd (and also sang in the choir and took AP classes). Hard to imagine I didn't get voted Prom Queen, huh?Now it's my turn to double dog dare all of you, my dear readers! What embarrassing activities did you participate in during high school??

Heroin Chic

Have you ever found yourself thinking, "Gee...my bare skin is so boring-looking. I wish I could snazz it up a bit. Perhaps if it looked like I was shooting up 10 times a day it might look a little flashier." Well here's your solution! Simply walk yourself down to your local lab and have some blood drawn. It worked for me!!

Behold! This is my arm 8 DAYS after having a simple blood draw for some genetic screening. I know what you're thinking...how much blood did they take to leave a bruise that size??? ONE! One little poke for one vial of blood produces this lovely sample of skin art. Imagine how much fun it is to be forced to wear long sleeves for work when it's 74 degrees outside just so no one at my school sites tries to give me an intervention.

Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy.

San Diego Or Bust

This weekend I went to San Diego for a conference for educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. My friend and co-worker, April, suggested we take the train from Grover Beach since she did that the last time the conference was held in San Diego and said it was a blast. The thought of driving 7+ hours from Fresno, sitting in traffic, stopping 80 times to pee since I have a baby pushing on my bladder, and having to focus on nothing but the road for the entire trip was not appealing. The idea of relaxing on the train, eating snacks, chatting and playing games with friends, and reading fluffy magazines, on the other hand sounded fantastic! So... April, Nicki, Kaleena, and I drove to Grover Beach, where we picked up two other friends/teachers, Joanna and Kelly, and headed down south.

April was right, the train was so much fun!!! We played Blokus (which may be my new favorite game and which I actually managed to win once on the way back), had hilarious conversations, read magazines, crocheted (me-a baby blanket for a friend, April-a baby blanket for her daughter's doll), and munched on snacks from our bags and the cafe on the train. I have been on many looooonnnng flights and this was WAY more fun. The time flew by and even though it ended up taking us longer to get there if you counted the train plus the drive time to Grover, it was definitely worth it to get to play instead of drive.

Once we got to San Diego we took a cab from the train station to our hotel. April, Nicki, and I ended up with a taxi driver we will never forget! He asked us why we were in San Diego and Nicki explained we were there for a conference and that we teach Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. The cab driver, who barely had a grasp on English, said he always wanted to learn sign language. April and I laughed hysterically/prayed we wouldn't crash while Nicki taught our driver how to sign the alphabet. Here is a picture of our new student showing off the letter "F"!

The conference itself was pretty good. There were some really good speakers and workshops, but I think the best part for me was the professional and social networking and the opportunity to improve my signing skills. Unfortuanately, there weren't many workshops geared toward the student population I work with and it did make me miss having my own classroom just a little bit. However, when I thought about my students and the fact that I only work three days a week, I definitely do appreciate the job that I have.

The best comment of the trip, and one that I unfortuanately didn't witness first person, was after Kaleena tripped on a step and fell really hard, a woman turned around and signed, "Are you alright?? I'm DEAF and even I heard you!" Hilarious!

Other highlights from the trip:
Making new friends (Hi Kelly!!)
Catching up with old friends
Exchanging ideas and war stories with other people who work with students like mine
Eating yummy food at Pat and Oscars
Watching the sun set over the ocean on the train back
and last but certainly not least....

...I felt the baby move for the first time!!! I was sitting in a keynote presentation on Friday night when I felt a tapping low in my tummy, like fingers drumming on a table. I turned to April and told her what I felt and she agreed that's exactly what it feels like when the baby moves at this stage! It was so awesome and I can't wait to feel it again!

Amazing

Today I went to my see my doctor for my 16 week appointment. The absolute greatest thing about this appointment was that I got to listen to the baby's heartbeat!! At 16 weeks I've just barely started to look pregnant (if you didn't know there was a baby in there, you'd think I'd just indulged in too many cheeseburgers) and I can't feel the baby move yet, so being able to check in and hear the heartbeat is really reassuring that everything's still going ok in there. It's such an incredible sound and I can't believe that I'm actually listening to my baby!!! AMAZING!