Inevitably Keely

Happy Halloween! Honestly, I'm not really into today as far as holidays go... I ended up not getting a costume this year because the idea of dressing up as an oven with a bun in it or a pregnant nun just wasn't appealing. Don't even get me started on slathering my nekkid belly with paint so that it looks like a beach ball or a pumpkin. While I commend people for bravely sharing their pregnant bellies and using their current state towards their costumes, there's just no way I can hang with it. For one thing, I've got a toddler who would not be able to resist my belly with paint on it and two, I'm cool with just Daniel, Zoe and my doc seeing my belly. It's not that I'm not proud, I'm just modest. Zoe on the other hand, does have costumes... and isn't particularly modest, but THAT'S another post for another day. First, there's the "daytime" costume which isn't so much a costume but a festive nod to the day. She's got her s...

Well, it's official - I am pre-registered for my upcoming hospital visit! According to my packet from my doctor's office, I should have registered ten weeks ago. Since the paperwork and setting up billing took just under two hours, I am convinced that they want to get the pregnant mother's in soon enough so that they won't go into labor in Admissions. Seriously. Two hours seems a bit much, no? I've set up a payment plan to pay for the birth and apparently, the hospital's new policy is to have patients start paying immediately. This seems super weird to me - like I'm paying for something that hasn't happened yet. I was told I wouldn't get a bill until months after Finn arrives and that they're only giving me an estimate on what the birth will cost because there is no way of knowing how long we'll stay in the hospital but that I have to start paying now. So we'll be making payments based on an estimate... does that seem weird to you? Regard...

Daniel and I have it good - really good. We have some very special friends here who in addition to renting us a beautiful home, they also have become our extended family. These people are who we entrust Zoe's care to when I need a break or when Daniel and I feel like we need a break together. I am so thankful for them and am quite aware that this pregnancy would be so much harder if we didn't have them to lean on for support. So last night we dropped Zoe off and Daniel and I ventured out for a nice dinner at P.F. Chang's. We had a leisurely dinner that included a calamari appetizer, crispy honey shrimp, and banana spring rolls... oh, my goodness - BANANA Spring Rolls... with coconut pineapple ice cream and caramel sauce! Heaven! We talked about living in Bakersfield, about Zoe, about how excited we were for our son to arrive. We flirted and beamed at each other, laughed, and we people watched. We made fun of our server who might have been the worst server ev-ar - he made a ...

This morning I went into Zoe’s room to get her out of bed and get her ready for her day. As she lay stretched across her changing table she pointed at my t-shirt: “What’s that?!” “It’s a lion.” “Rion?!” “Yes! It’s a lion! Roar!” “Rion!” “Lion! Yes! Roar!” “Rawr!” “Roar!” At different points today we have repeated this conversation about the lion on my t-shirt. Each time, Zoe seems to be filled with as much pride as I am. She’s learning so much everyday. Here’s a list of the words that come out of our little chatterbox daily: No. Yes. Please. Thank you. Daddy. Mama. Baby. Bailey. Max. Chuck. Ellie. Nana/banana Juice. Cookie. Bite. Yummy. Mmmm. More. Up. Down. Boom Boom. Uh-oh. Hi. Bye. Belly. Bellybutton. Nose. Eye. Head. Hat. Shoes. Sock. Dog. Cat. Fish. Duck. Quack. Tweet. What’s that? Nigh-Nigh. Ball. Mine. Bath. I love Zoe! As you can see, she’s got quite the vocabulary for an almost 17 month old. I also love that she’s starting to piece some words together. She’s also quite the lit...

You know what's awesome? When your officially in your third trimester - and feeling absolutely gigantic - and your husband stops what he's doing, looks at you with a straight face and asks you if you've lost weight. Clearly, my husband is a very special man - but he deserves some major kudos for lifting my morale and making me feel even more beautiful than he does on any given day. Truth is, I feel HUGE - but have somehow managed to only gain 3 pounds total so far and I think my face is thinning out a bit. I like that. What I'm also loving is seeing that our baby boy is thriving in my belly. He's strong and active and I can spend hours just staring at my belly as I see his kicks. I've been really bad about taking photos to document this pregnancy. I'm pretty much the photographer of our family so it's just difficult and mirror shots aren't always that flattering when trying to capture a belly without getting a bad angle. Right about now I'm wish...

Via Arte showcases artists and their chalk art in the parking lot at The Marketplace in Bakersfield, CA See the full set HERE . Daniel and I have been going nearly every year since we started dating and today we took Zoe. As soon as we got out of our car we felt like we were somewhere else other than Bakersfield - the music playing, the artists and their art near by. It was awesome and a perfect way to end our weekend. Zoe enjoyed all the bright colors, but more than anything she loved getting to people watch and wave to everyone. She's such a ham... I do not know WHERE she gets it from! I loved getting to show Zoe something her Daddy and I have enjoyed for the past five years... but the neatest thing for me was just getting to be outside in the fresh cool air on a nice sunny day taking pictures while Daniel and Zoe were with me. Pure bliss. P.S - I'm officially in the 3rd trimester as of today. Holy Cow! Where did the time go?! Hard to believe Finn should be here in 12 weeks o...

With just three days left in my second trimester I thought I'd write out some observations about my second pregnancy. 1. Time flies when you're having fun - I say this tongue in cheek, because clearly this hasn't all been fun times... but it seems like the days really are flying by. When I was pregnant with Zoe, the days seemed to drip along like molasses. It felt like she would never be here. Every day I told Daniel, "I wish it were time already!" I was so anxious to see her, hold her, have her with us. This time around, I'm willing to wait the allotted 40 weeks. I want him to stay safe inside me and I'm comfortable with the time guidelines because I know the longer he's in there, the better. I'm excited to see him and have him join our family - but I feel more content this time. 2. I feel pretty - Truly. And that just feels weird because I sure did have some bad hair and skin days while I was pregnant with Zoe. This time my hair shines and boun...

I got this from Torrie and thought it was important to repost.... whatever your leanings are, maybe you could post it to? Can't hurt, right?