Work is Through and One Week to Go!

Yesterday was my last day at work for six months and also marked my entry into the 39th week! The past few weeks have been really difficult at work - very long hours trying to finish up projects and quite a lot of stress, so I'm glad to have a break. I've been very lucky to continue to feel good this whole time. I walked my 1.5 miles to work each day and didn't really have any major pregnancy side effects, so that was the only thing that got me through it all.

Some of the women at work threw Baby Harvey a shower this week. We had a great time eating cake (topped with a sleeping baby made out of white chocolate) and opening presents. Baby H got a beautiful blanket, lots of cute clothes, and all sorts of bath products. Thanks Christine and the women of Covington!

We saw the OB a few days ago and I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, so we're making progress, but don't think Baby H is coming in the immediate future yet. Thomas had a dream that Baby H would be born on April 7 (four days late), so we are going with that. I'm hoping this means that I will have about 10 days to finish up baby preparations and take it easy. My mom is coming to town on April 4, so we are hoping she will be here for the delivery too!


Here are my 37 & 38 week photos:

National Corndog Day

Thomas and I always look forward to our favorite holiday of the year - National Corndog Day - which takes place on the first Saturday of the NCAA basketball tournament. Even though I was 38 weeks and one day pregnant this year, we were determined to celebrate it like always. We invited lots of friends and co-workers over to our house for lots of eating and game-watching.

For those of you who don't know about Corndog Day (http://www.corndogday.com/), the goal is to eat as many corndogs, tater tots, and canned American beers as possible. You have from the tipoff of the first game (at about 10 am) until the last buzzer (about 8 pm) to do it. The ultimate goal is to complete the triple-double - 10 corndogs, 10 beers, and 100 tater tots. We didn't have anyone make that goal this year, but Thomas was a surprise contender, setting a personal best of 7/7/70. I was handicapped by Baby Harvey taking up all the space in my stomach this year. But I still managed 6 corndogs during the day.

Here I am manning the oven and holding my very own non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee beer (who knew they made these!?!?!?).

Corndog Day is family-friendly! Megan teaches her daughter, Whitney, about the finer things in life:

Getting the Nursery Ready

Thomas and I have been spending what little free time we have had the past few weeks making some big preparations for Baby Harvey. During the first weekend in March, we attended our second birthing class with the McMoyler Method. Thomas was unwittingly picked as a "volunteer" to demonstrate how to push the baby out in front of the whole class. He was quite a trooper and acted it out with reality and drama! Here we are with our teacher and with one of our classmates who was Thomas's "birth attendant."

We also have been making repeated trips to Target and Babies 'R' Us to get final supplies. Picking which diapers and wipes to get was quite overwhelming - Thomas finally determined that we should try Huggies first after reading lots of reviews.

The nursery is almost ready. We purchased a beautiful Ragazzi changing table from one of my coworkers that matches the natural wood furniture look we are going for in the nursery (thanks, Kim!). Thomas found a matching bookcase at Ikea, so along with our glider we purchased off of Craig's List and the dresser we already owned, we have managed to decorate the nursery at a reasonable price. Our only "splurge" was a new crib from Italian furniture maker Bellini. Sadly, it is the only hiccup we've encountered in our baby preparation so far. When we opened the box, we found that it was broken and had several stains on it! So, we won't have our crib until a replacement shipment comes in by mid-April. Baby Harvey is instead going to have to make do with the bassinet feature of our Pack N Play for a week or two (somehow, we don't think she'll know the difference).

Here are some photos of our almost-done nursery. I like to say that we kept the blue wall color because we are progressive San Franciscans who are raising a gender-neutral child, but those of you who actually know me know that probably isn't true! We just didn't want the hassle of painting since we are looking for a house and may move within a few months or a year. And the blue is kind of calming.

The Latest Belly Photo

Here I am at 35 weeks... can I get any bigger? I'm afraid so!

California Baby Shower

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending another wonderful shower for Baby Harvey. This time, we were in California at the beautiful home of Laurie Dachs, who was co-hosting the shower with two other friends of Susan's - Marcia Argyris and Bryn Bettelheim.

In attendance was a great group of women - friends of Susan from Piedmont and the East Bay, my co-workers, and friends from college and law school. Baby Harvey received so many adorable clothes and will most certainly be the best-dressed baby in town now. Thanks to everyone!

With Elena, who has been giving me tips on having a new baby girl:

The lovely hostesses....

Baby Harvey receives her very own pair of pink glitter Converse sneakers (to match Thomas's Spizzwink shoes!):

More Photos of the Big Day!

So, we took more than 200 photos at Lizzie's wedding, and we need to share more of them! What a great weekend....

Bridesmaids' Luncheon:

Rehearsal Dinner:

Ceremony:

Reception:

Liz Gets Married!

My beautiful little sis got married this weekend in Atlanta to Dave Fetzer! I luckily got the "all clear" from my doctor to travel to the festivities at 34 weeks pregnant, and it was certainly worth the trip. The wedding was held at a winery and resort outside of Atlanta - Chateau Elan. The whole Webb and Neeland families were in attendance, and we had a fantastic time the entire weekend.

More photos coming soon...

Mendocino Beer Adventure!

Thomas and I continued our tradition of weekend trips for Presidents' Day/ Valentine's Weekend. We hopped in the car and drove up to Mendocino County, just north of Sonoma. Mendocino is known for its wineries since the climate is similar to Napa and Sonoma, but it has also developed as a bit of a destination for the beer afficionado.

With an automatic designated driver in tow (me!), Thomas got to hit a few breweries on our trip. We stopped first at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, known for its Boont Amber Ale, where we were treated to a full tour of the brewery. They had a great tasting room where we met some other couples and purchased several of the large 22 ounce bottles to take home for me to drink in a few months.

We then headed up to Ukiah where we took in an afternoon movie and went to the Ukiah Brewing Company for our Valentine's Day dinner. Mendocino County is known for its California hippieness, and the Ukiah Brewing Company was no exception. They are the nation's first certified organic brewpub. All of the food and beer they serve is organic - and it was also delicious!


We drove a few miles down the road after dinner to Hopland, a small town on Highway 101 named for the hops that used to be grown all over the region. We stayed in the most adorable historic Victorian hotel - the Hopland Inn.

On Sunday morning, we walked around Hopland and then drove a few miles of out town to the Fetzer winery. Even though they didn't have tours or tastings, we thought it was important to visit and take a picture since my sister is about to become a Fetzer next week! We were then back to Hopland to the Mendocino Brewing Company, known for its Red Tail Ale and totally awesome hawk logos. Thomas sampled 8 different beers as we chatted with the locals and other tourists.

The weekend culminated in a drive out to the coast of Sonoma County to visit Bodega Bay. We had an early dinner at a crab shack and took in the views. Then it was back to San Francisco.

An Evening With Pistol Pete

Thomas and I spent our Monday evening this week watching Pete Sampras! We found some great tickets to attend the SAP Open in San Jose, and took off after work to see Pete play in an exhibition match to kick off the tournament. Pete started the evening warming up against Andy Roddick, so we were excited to get to see another star too.

Pete was scheduled to play James Blake, but Blake had to withdraw from the match due to an injury he sustained in his doubles match earlier in the day. Tommy Haas stepped in to play Pete at the last minute and was just a complete class act! We had a great evening seeing some world class tennis - Pete's serve was still regularly more than 120 miles per hour, and he had his fair share of aces. Tommy pulled off the win in a third set tiebreak, but not before Pete had totally charmed the crowd with his antics.

Andy Roddick warming up:

Pete steps out of his shoe on match point!:

Tournament decor: