Well ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of year again. The time that Logan and I try to come up with some festive way to take our Christmas pictures. This year we thought it would be funny to integrate fake snow since this is our first Christmas not living in a place with real snow. So this is the concept that we came up with. But no one ever tells you how tricky it is to throw something in a picture without it hiding your face or making you look crazy. However, we had a nice time taking our pictures with the help of our friend Dean;)
    I am a bit of a Christmas nut. I was an anxious mess until we finally got our Christmas tree and put it up in the house. I wasn't feeling well so Logan put up the tree and decorated the whole house for me. I keep the tree plugged in 24/7 and am always blaring The Carpenters or Mannheim Steamrollers. We only have another week and half until we go home to SLO to celebrate Christmas with our families. We are really going to enjoy this trip because soon I won't be able to travel anymore as the due date approaches. We are just so excited that in a few short months our baby girl will be here with us! Enjoy our Holiday photo shoot!!!

Tay

 ^^^Logan and I celebrated his 26th birthday by having breakfast at 85 Degrees. It is a Taiwanese bakery with some tasty treats.^^^

 ^^^We saw an early movie before we had to get on with our day.^^^

 ^^^21 Week Bump^^^

 ^^^Went to a fundraiser for the medical school. Having a harder time finding dresses that still fit.^^^

 ^^^This is my beloved Christmas onsie. I decided to break it out early since there are no guarantees that it will still fit at Christmas.^^^

^^^My attempt to make my sister proud by trying something different with my hair:)^^^

 ^^^I went to Utah for my friend Bod's wedding. Here we are freezing waiting for the Bride and Groom^^^

 ^^^The beautiful couple^^^

^^^Some of the cutest babies you will ever see^^^

^^^My friends threw me a surprise baby shower at my favorite restaurant^^^

^^^Going back to the best place ever with Emily^^^

^^^A couple days before Thanksgiving we spend the day at the beach. This was Logan's second time surfing that day.^^^

^^^Cooking with my mom^^^

^^^Our Thanksgiving feast. I love celebrating Logan's favorite holiday.^^^ 

^^^Logan and Sammy just enjoying each others company.^^^

How far along are you? 24 Weeks and 2 days.
How am I feeling? I am feeling pretty good so far. I am not as sick any more and am still getting my appetite back. I am not just dealing with my growing bump and trying to stay comfortable. Sleeping is still difficult and I find that I cannot do too much in one day especially if it involves standing too much.
Total weight gain?  2 pounds now. I have officially reached my pre-pregnancy weight and am passing it quickly. 
How big is baby? According to The Pregnancy Center online the babe is now 1 1/3 pounds or the size of an ear of corn. She is skinny and is supposed to be getting plumper by the day. At our last appointment she was measuring normally and they noticed that her arm and leg bones we measuring a bit bigger, which means that she could be tall!!!
Maternity Clothes? I am wearing maternity pants that are heavenly. Kimala has also been a saint and got me a pair of maternity leggings that are AH-MAZ-ING. I want to wear them all the time. I have sweet sisters who have sent me lots of maternity shirts so I will have options when I get giant.
Stretch Marks? None. I bought some baby butter with vitamin E in it. I know they are inevitable, but it does help with the itching a bit since my stomach is stretching.
Sleep? Sleeping has gotten better since Kimala gave me that magic C pillow. Last night I woke up like 8 times to go to the bathroom, which doesn't help me to sleep through the night;)  I also have been having crazy vivid dreams and sometimes nightmares. I kind of hate them... haha
Best moment of the week? Spending Thanksgiving with my family. It was sad because none of my siblings were able to come so it was just Kimala, Dan, Logan and I. We got up and started cooking trying to do everything ahead of time. It was relaxing and nice to pick up helpful cooking hints from my momma. Then we sat outside in the sun snacking on treats. Logan finally got home from a morning surf session and then we at dinner and saw a moving that night. We ate pie and then went to sleep with full bellies. It was really nice to have a relaxing day. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving and are excited for the next one because our little girl will get to experience it too.
Food cravings? I have been craving bagels and chocolate. Great for the figure I know...
Food aversions? I don't know it until I smell it. Sometimes it will be something that I normally like, but if it hits my wrong I can't eat it.
Belly button in or out? IN IN IN IN IN IN!
What I miss? I miss diet coke like always.
What I'm looking forward to? I am looking forward to buying my Christmas tree. Logan and I have to find the time to go and get it this week, but all I want is to cover my house with Christmas cheer!

Tay

 ^^^My friend Jen came to town and gave me a couple days of much needed friend therapy^^^

 ^^^Honestly the best tasting burger around^^^

 ^^^Log and I attended Corbin and Moena's annual Halloween party^^^

 ^^^Their dog was a dinosaur...we died^^^

^^^Kimala had some fun shopping for the little girl. She is lucky^^^

^^^19 Week bump^^^

^^^20 Week bump^^^

How far along are you? 20 Weeks and 1 day.
How am I feeling? I am continuing to feel better. The nausea is improving, but my comfort level is taking a toll. Luckily I see clients all day and get to sit down and rest, but all that sitting really becomes a problem for my hips and joints. I find that I am really uncomfortable after the work day.
Total weight gain?  None so far. According to my doctors appointment last week I have gained 1 pound since my 16 week visit. I am still not back up to pre-pregnancy weight yet.
How big is baby? According to The Pregnancy Center online the babe is now 10 1/2 ounces or the size of a banana. She is getting big!!!
Maternity Clothes? I am just wearing my maternity pants. My shirts still fit... kind of. I am having to get pretty creative though. I think I will be needing some long tank tops though for when my shirts don't have enough length.
Stretch Marks? None. Still lathering with my oily lotion. My stomach is starting to feel a bit tight though and sometimes a little itchy.
Sleep? Sleeping has gotten better since Kimala gave me that magic C pillow. I still wake up with achy hips and sometimes need to get up and walk around. I also have been having crazy vivid dreams and sometimes nightmares. I kind of hate them... haha
Best moment of the week? When Logan snuck in an entire large pizza into the movie theater because I was starving and there was no outside food allowed. He sat down next to me and pulled the pizza out from under his sweatshirt. He really will do anything for me and this little girl.
Food cravings? I have been craving lots of fruit and anything sweet.
Food aversions? No chicken still and I find that I am kind of picky, like always.
Belly button in or out? In sucka!
What I miss? I miss sushi. It pretty much always sounds good to me.
What I'm looking forward to? I am really looking forward to my friend Bod's wedding. I will be flying to Utah in a couple of weeks to meet up with all my friends and play for a weekend.

THE BABE IS ON HER WAY

^^^Logan did this ultrasound around 16 weeks. I love that he can ultrasound the baby whenever I want^^^

^^^10 Weeks^^^

^^^16 Weeks^^^

^^^16 Weeks^^^

^^^17 Weeks^^^

^^^18 Weeks^^^

^^^The moment we found out our babe was a GIRL^^^

   So this is officially my first baby related blog post! Honestly, I haven't blogged about my pregnancy yet, because I am still in the process of wrapping my mind around the whole thing. Logan and I always wanted to have children and felt this last year that it was the right time in our lives to make out family a bit bigger. Unfortunately, pregnancy did not come easily for us, but in the end it did come and because of the wait we have been so incredibly grateful to be welcoming a baby into the world. 

   We found out in July that we were expecting and were so excited and very scared that something might happen to the baby. We had a lot going on in our lives at that time, like still not having a place to live yet,  we were moving to Irvine, Logan was about to start Medical School and I was about to start my new job as a therapist. Needless to say I was a bit stressed;)

   Then my first trimester of pregnancy reared its ugly head and the sickness started. We moved to Irvine and I pretty much hibernated for weeks. I was so incredibly sick that all I could do was drag myself out of bed and go to work and then come home and get back in bed. It was not one of my finest hours. I found that I hated almost all foods except for Jamba juice, wonder bread, and Einstein bagels. So that is pretty much what I ate! 

   Luckily as I left the first trimester I began to feel like a human again. Now I am dealing with the issue of maternity clothing and how I have no idea what to buy or what to look for. Fortunately, Kimala and Tani are constantly in my corner giving me advice and guiding me through the process. While every day Logan takes care of me and makes sure that I am feeling well and gives me the pep talks that I need to get through the day. This little girl is already loved by so many people. I just cannot wait to meet her. 

   I haven't been taking many bump/pregnancy pictures during my pregnancy and figured it would be good to have some to look back on. So above I included some pictures of my growing belly. I kind of skipped weeks 11 through 15 because I really did not look that different except for the fact that I constantly looked like I had just eating Thanksgiving dinner. I borrowed this little questionnaire from a friends blog to help me keep a good record of my first pregnancy so I hope you enjoy!

How far along are you? 18 weeks and 3 days.
How am I feeling? I am starting to feel better. I am not as nauseous as I used to be. Now I am feeling more of the round ligament pains and discomfort in my hips from the fact that they are spreading (honestly I didn't know if was possible for these hips to get any bigger, but I guess it is). Unfortunately  I have an ugly head cold right now that has knocked me on my butt and the Tylenol regular strength really isn't cutting it;)
Total weight gain?  None so far. I lost a lot of weight during my first trimester and still haven't reached my pre-pregnancy weight yet.
How big is baby? According to The Pregnancy Center online the babe is now the size of a bell pepper. To be more specific a red bell pepper if you needed a visual;)
Maternity Clothes? I just bought my first pair of maternity pants. I tried the whole regular jeans clasped with the help of a hair band, but that was simply not working so I then moved onto a head band which did give me some more room, but looked to much like a bungee cord. So I bit the bullet and bought a pair of maternity jeans. Don't worry I did send Kimala and Tani about 5 pictures before making the actual purchase. I don't shop well alone. I need my people with me.
Stretch Marks? None. I have been lathering up with the oiliest/ greasiest lotion I could get my hands on. I have been wearing a bikini for years and will not stop after this little girl comes out...hopefully;)
Sleep? Sleeping has been pretty difficult. I am a stomach sleeper and since I cannot sleep on my stomach anymore I have been trying to sleep on my sides. I was using about 4 pillows until Kimala ordered me a C Pillow and had it sent to my house. Lets just say it has changed my life. Logan is so jealous of my pillow that he tried to steal it sometimes. I am sleeping better now except for the fact that I pee probably 7 times in the middle of the night. Before you freak out and think there is something wrong with me (which I suppose is still debatable) just know that I before I was pregnant I would use that bathroom probably 3 times each night, so really its not that big of a change. 
Best moment of the week? Finding out that our little babe is a GIRL. I loved having the ultrasound and watching Logan stand inches away from the screen on the wall marveling at our little girls anatomy. He was totally geeking out about all four chambers of her heart, her aortic arch and her foreman ovale. I loved seeing the look on Logan's face when he realized he was going to be the dad of a little girl. 
Food cravings? I am constantly craving a McDonalds cheese burger and anything chocolate.
Food aversions? No chicken...ever again
Belly button in or out? In sucka!
What I miss? I miss drinking an absurd about of Diet Coke.
What I'm looking forward to?  Planning my baby shower with my momma.

Tay

Still trying to catch up here, so if you would please be patient;) Logan has started medical school at UC Irvine and has been doing wonderfully, but before he started school we were able to attend his White Coat Ceremony. It was a great day because Kimala, Relda, and Rick all decided to come down for the ceremony. I have watched and supported Logan as he has worked like crazy to apply for medical school. This included getting straight As every semester, studying sometimes from 6am to 10pm for the MCAT, lining up numerous extra curricular activities and every other absurd thing they require you to do to get into Medical School. Now he has gotten in and is about to embark on another absurd journey to becoming a doctor which similar is jam packed with good grades, endless studying, sleepless nights in the hospital, exams, and then applying for a residency. We both know that this is his path and are committed to it no matter how difficult it might be. But I loved the White Coat Ceremony because it gave every one an opportunity to take pause and recognize and celebrate all of the hard work that has gone into just getting to the point of starting medical school. It was an excellent opportunity for me to reflect on who Logan is as a person and everything that he has accomplished so far. I am so proud of Logan for working towards such a nobel profession and never giving up.  Now that the medical school journey has begun we are taking it one day at a time;)

Tay