Finally Pregnant!

It's funny how as soon as day 1 of the third trimester hit my belly popped out further and my body decided it was time to finally feel pregnant.  And I realized today that certain body parts are now out of sight (haha).  I know I've said this before but this time I really actually do look pregnant now!  I received a lot of comments this week (at 29 weeks) about how I finally look pregnant.  I am not going to lie, I don't mind the attention and special care and compliments I have received throughout my pregnancy.  I really love being pregnant so far!

I still have chocolate on the brain.  I do give in to my chocolate craving to an extent.  My new obsession is creating Hershey bar graham cracker sandwiches, like s'mores without the marshmallow.  I do try to limit my intake of sweets and chocolate to about one small serving a day and substitute it with fruit or choclate soymilk as much as possible. 

The baby is very active in my belly and his movements are stronger.  It seems that whenever I am awake and lying still, he is moving around.  Tonight I was sitting in class and I felt a sharp kick to the point that it hurt.  Baby Jake is definitely the son of a P.E. teacher...I think he likes to do jumping jacks and push ups in my uterus!  The doc told us last week that this trimester is when I am supposed to gain the most weight and that the baby is slightly small but it's nothing to worry about.  I will now be going for my check up every 2 weeks.  I can't believe that I have been pregnant for 7 months!  I can only imagine how much bigger my belly is going to get!

Better Together

Celebrating 5 years since our magical 6-hour first date on 10/21/2005!

10/22/2010

Five years ago, we went on our first date.  Now we are happily married and have a baby on the way.  We could not ask for more.

Better Together
by Jack Johnson

There is no combination of words I could put on the back of postcard
And no song that I could sing but I can try for your heart
Our dreams and they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving

Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart
Why are we here? And where do we go? And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together

Mmm, it's always better when we're together
Yeh, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well it's always better when we're together
Yeh, it's always better when we're together

All of these moments just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone when the morning light sings
Or brings new things for tomorrow night you see
They'll be gone too, too many things I have to do

But if all of these dreams might find their way into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression, I was somewhere in between
With only two, just me and you, not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be, we'll sit beneath the mango tree now

Yeah, it's always better when we're together
Mmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

I believe in memories, they look so, so pretty when I sleep
And when I wake up you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing:

We're better together
We so much better when we're together.

The Second Trimester

What a good pregnancy this has been so far!  I hope that is a reflection of how the baby will be!  The second trimester felt very long but I can't complain, I felt great the entire time and the baby looks good and healthy. 

Second trimester highlights:

• Announcing our pregnancy to the world!
• My appetite coming back around week 13
• Must have food: chocolate soymilk 
• Craved: hot dogs, root beer, Pirate's Booty, chocolate (towards the end)
• Finding out that we are having a baby BOY!
• My first baby-related purchase: Boppy full body pillow for me
• Feeling the baby move in my belly (around 21 weeks)
• Registering for baby items
• Finally buying maternity clothes at 22 weeks
• NAMI Walk
• Babymoon with my hubby

13 weeks

14 weeks
At my 10 year high school reunion with Katie and Ana

15 weeks

16 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks
In Palm Desert with Kimmie and Kristin

19 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks
With Michelle, Sophia, and Ebony

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks
At the NAMI Walk with Norma

26 weeks

27 weeks

In just 12 more weeks, Baby Jake will enter our world and surely change our lives forever.  We can't wait to meet you, little one!

Babymoon

First comes love, then comes the engagement, then comes the wedding, then comes the honeymoon and marriage, then comes the babymoon!  Chris and I went on a "babymoon" trip this weekend as a last hurrah before the baby comes and changes our lives.  We found a cozy bed and breakfast in Encinitas where we stayed for 2 nights.

We arrived Friday evening and found a great Italian restaurant/sports bar for dinner.  After dinner we went back to the inn to relax, cuddle, and watch a movie on the laptop (thanks Netflix!)

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast provided by our hostess then walked about 2 blocks down to Moonlight Beach.  Afterwards, we headed over to La Jolla to watch our nephew Camden's soccer game and spend time with the Green family.  The rest of the day was spent at the La Jolla UTC Outdoor Shopping Center where we had lunch, walked around, and indulged in some Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  For our last night there, we had dinner at Silks Restaurant in the Hilton at Del Mar.

And on Sunday after breakfast, we headed back home...just in time for kick-off :)  What can I say, we love NFL Sundays at the Harrison household!

Like any trip that we go on, our babymoon felt too short.  But we had a nice, relaxing weekend enjoying our time together...just the two of us.

27 weeks

I am now in the last week of my 2nd trimester.  In less than 13 weeks Baby Jake will be here!  I am so thankful that the last 27 weeks of my pregnancy have been really good, and now I am mentally and physically preparing myself for what's to come in the next couple months.  On Tuesday (exactly 27 weeks pregnant) I woke up, felt great, got dressed, went to my internship, went to class, and by the end of the day I looked down and realized that my belly had grown significantly (was it there that morning?!).  If I didn't look pregnant before, I certainly look it now!

I am also now starting to experience some pregnancy symptoms.  First of all I have chocolate on the brain...I can't get enough of it!  True, I've always been a chocolate lover but this time my cravings feel stronger.  I also have some lower back pain.  Then early this morning I woke up to a very painful cramp in my right calf.  It actually woke me up and I found myself half asleep exclaiming, "Ow! Ow! Ow! My right calf! It hurts!"  I stretched it, Chris massaged it, the pain went away and I was able to go back to sleep.  I felt comforted having Chris, my ever-so-calm husband, right there soothing me.  I have to admit it did scare me a little...if I reacted that badly to a leg cramp, how will I do when I start having contractions?  When I got up for the day, I took Laila on a nice early morning walk and could not help but think about it.  But instead of worrying, I found myself enjoying the fresh air and all the beautiful scenery we were passing.  We walked by the elementary school down the street and saw all the kids getting dropped off...I imagined walking Jake to school.  We walked past Heritage Park, which currently has a pumpkin patch...I envisioned taking Jake there.  Walked by all the nice houses in the neighborhood...I pictured us taking Jake trick-or-treating...I realized that the inevitable pain that I will have to endure will soon be forgotten after our baby joins our world.

Another important realization I had in the last week is that pregnancies last 9 months for a reason.  In the beginning I was not as excited as I am now.  I think my fear of giving birth overshadowed my excitement.  But somewhere along the way my feelings evolved as my belly grew bigger.  Now I can hardly wait til January!  I just pray that the 3rd trimester will not be too miserable to enjoy.  Most importantly, I hope that the baby continues to grow healthy and strong.   

The Inspiration Behind Baby Jake's Name

Call us shallow, but we hope our son will be the cool, cute, and well-liked guy at school :)