Entering the 3rd trimester!

Yep, it's here! I am officially in the beginning days of my third and final trimester! I can feel little Levi kicing regularly now and he is getting pretty big, about a foot long and weighs a bit more than a pound!

I have to count my blessings, b/c I continue to feel good and am able to stay active. Although, ah-hem, it is getting a bit harder to ambulate around and I think I've pretty much started to waddle instead of walking now, lol. I am having a few more symptoms like some back pain, mild leg cramps, pressure on my ribs and minor fatigue. But none of it is unmanageable!

Since we've been home I have been back to work which is going well. I have been able to get some much needed rest! And it feels so good to be back cooking for my own foods again. I made a couple of delicious soups today for the week and our fridge is full to the rim with fresh fruits and veggies. What a lucky person I am! I think my habits are rubbing off on Marcelo too as he made a big salad to take to work with him tomorrow :-)

I walked over 4 miles today which felt great. I am definitely a bit slower and I may have pulled something b/c I have a cramp in my hip that's causing me to limp tonight, lol. But I am determined to stay active! Levi likes the rhythm too of walking and movement.

Tomorrow is back to work and I've got a full week but so looking forward to Halloween and The Day of the Dead celebrations this weekend! Woot woot! ...will try to take lots of pics :-)

we're back!

We had the most AMAZING time in Mexico!!! What an adventure.

After getting back from Joshua Tree I had 3 days to get ready to leave. What a whirlwind but super fun and exciting.

Marcelo joined us in Mexico on Friday night but for the first 2 days, my friends Chris, Rachel and I stayed at a great place, off the beaten path called Viva Maria. It's owned and run by a couple from Italy who were absolutely delightful and truly good folk. They went above and beyond for us!

 

 

 

 

We each got little one bedroom apartments and they were so cute and cozy! This is my room pictured above :-) Very fun place. We found a great restaurant a few blocks away where on more than one occasion we enjoyed shrimp tacos, shrimp cocktail (sooo good), fresh guac and chips and what made it extra good was the variety of sauces that they brought out to accompany our food. I still don't think we figured out what most of them were but boy were they tasty!

About a half mile away was Qinta Avenida (fifth ave) where we stumbled upon a big street art fair and tons and tons of cute shops and restaurants where we passed a couple of really fun evenings!

 

 

Through the owners of the hotel, we got hooked up with a very nice and adventurous tour/diving guide named David from Paris. He had left his high stress job working for the anti-terrorist police in France to come live at the beach and lead diving tours. He was awesome. He took us snorkeling in a cenote (under ground cave)! It was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever been. The water was so clear, and it was so quiet and so dark with pockets of natural sunlight, like an alternative universe, or being in a dream world!

 

 

 

Probably my favorite time from the trip was snorkeling with sea turtles off the coast of Akumal Beach. We just had to swim out about 20 yards before we could look down through the crystal clear water to see them nonchalantly feeding on the sandy/grassy bottom. They paid us no mind at all. They were huge with gorgeous and intricate markings and every so often they would swim up for air. It was one of the most magnificent experiences I have had in my life so far, it's hard to put into words the feeling of being close to so much natural beauty. It's truly soul touching.

 

What a sight !!!!

 

We also saw some giant sting rays and a variety of other very beautiful and brightly colored fish. It was so great. I just wanted to hang out with the turtles all day and swim off and live with them!

Unfortunately due to my preggo state, once we got about 100 yards from the shore, I started getting a really uncomfortable pressure in my back and nausea. Luckily we had two tour guides, one in the water with us and one on a Kayak so they helped me climb on to the kayak when I started to feel sick. :-) It was pretty funny actually, one of the guys like projected me out of the water from below and I had to kind of roll on board, with my big belly, ha! They were super nice tho. Like many things in life, I guess being pregnant is knowing your limits and being humble about asking for help.

Later that night, we went to the beautiful Azul Fives Hotel, where we would stay for the remaining 3 nights, to attend a ladies only henna party! Here is the beautiful bride Pyari and her mama painting an intricate henna design on her hand.

All of the ladies, we got anointed with designs on our wrists and hands in preparation for the wedding. It was a pretty cool thing to take part in. The party was later followed by a beautiful catered bonfire fondue beach party! It was soooo fun and I don't even want to tell you how many chocolate covered strawberries and cookies I ate!

I was sooooooo enamored by swimming with the turtles that I was going to take Marcelo there the following day but unfortunately Rachel had gotten sick in the night and the four of us had to take a taxi to an emergency room at 4am and ended up staying there all day with her! It was pretty scary and we are so glad she is OK now. She had gotten Kidney Stones, which apparently is super painful! Luckily Marcelo and I were there to translate back and forth with the doctors since most staff spoke very little or no English. That part was cool and fun for me! Marcelo was a super star and travelled with them onto another hospital in Cancun (about 50 miles away) for the following night to continue translating. Luckily she was well enough to come back and be a bridesmaid in the wedding.

As they went on to Cancun I went back to get some much needed rest and checked into the Azul Fives, I didn't tell anyone this, because I ate it all, but they brought a sample dessert plate into my room as soon as I checked in with Tiramisu, chocolate cake, and truffles!

 

They even had beds on the beach for chillaxin!

 

The next 3 days were packed to the rim with fun wedding events!

Friday night was the "Sangeet," a talent show of sorts where the bride performed a surprise beautiful dance and the groom gave a lovely speech. My girlfriends and I performed a dance to Salt N Pepa's "Push It." It was soooo fun and funny (we had practiced a lot!). I hope to have pics and video soon!

The beautiful couple: Cortland and Pyari

 

 

Day of the wedding, Cortland comes in on a boat!

 

 

While the bridesmaids are up on the balcony as the wedding party walks in. (The bride is hiding behind us!)

 

 

The ceremony

 

Rooftop reception with fire dancers, dance party, speeches, cake,  and slide show! What a dream!

 

 

The next day we went on an adventure to Tulum to see and learn about the ruins and swim at the pristine beach!

 

 

Needless to say it was an action packed with non stop excitement for the whole week! I think I did pretty well for being almost 6 months pregnant there! I loved being so active (walking and swimming every day!). Buuuttt, I think b/c the food was so salty, my poor feet and ankles swelled up like balloons! I couldn't even fit into the gold sandals I bought especially to go with my bridesmaids dress, lol. It was funny tho!

Over all I am SO grateful to have such lovely friends and to participate in so much celebration and joy. I had forgotten how much I truly love to travel and my spirit felt so freeee! Nature is truly healing and medicinal. I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity to go and I definitely have a renewed travel bug. Cheers to adventures and exploring!

More pics should be coming soon! I had lost my camera for the majority of the trip, which later turned up at the bottom of my suitcase, lol so I didn't take too many pics but will post more when friends post theirs. Thanks for reading!

We had a great time at The Joshua Tree Music Festival! Joshua Tree is a desert environment about 2.5 hours East of Los Angeles. It is a vast, open flat land and at night looking up at the stars is absolutely breath taking.

We enjoyed camping out as well as volunteering to help collect and sort trash and recycling. It feels good to be involved and an active part of the festival! I also really enjoyed the daily outdoor yoga sessions!

This was a small, mellow festival and we enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, ample room in the music bowl to sit and watch or get up and dance, and all of the spectacular and diverse musical acts. I liked that the focus was really on the talented musicians whom all played instruments and or sang. My favorite bands included 'Tal National' from Niger....sooooo fun to dance to, 'Elephant Revival,"a folkish band who's female lead singer had a voice to die for, and 'Zazi," a female trio from the Netherlands who sang in multiple languages and had a very fun and eclectic repertoire.

These are of the bands I actually saw, mind you, as I fell asleep at about 9pm on Saturday night, lol. #pregnancy. Overall it was so fresh to be outside in the clean air under the open skies, no screens, and surrounded by creative and colorful energies. I painted my belly both days and loved the infusion of smiles, and positivity that we received!

 

Below: eating dinner overlooking the desert at dusk...dreamy!

 

Volunteering on 'The Green Team!"

 

Baby love!

Have a great week!

one more...

omg, and look at this little chunk! I'm imagining Lulu looking all snuggly just like this in my belly right now. ...except maybe without all the fur.....but actually young fetuses do have a fur-like layer in the womb, so maybe he does look similar!

the ups and downs

omg you guys I have never experienced a fatigue like this! This past week I have been so preggo. Lots is happening in here! I have been so tired that I have seriously barely been able to keep my eyes open during work and have almost fallen asleep on the way home. I went to bed (sleep) tonight at 7:30 pm!

I feel like I took a sleeping pill in the morning and have to go through my day trying to fight off the effects. Literally, not joking, I will catch myself during the day with my jaw just hanging open b/c my body is so tired. Ha!

Also been having some heart burn and mild nausea. And my belly feels tight, like everything is just really packed in there, lol, and the skin is stretching. I've had some back pain so M gave me a back and foot massage today. How sweet!

This is pretty much the only thing I feel like doing all day:

 

 

 

Treating Myself

I've had a verrrry long day at work. I was up half of the night from back pain and insomnia. This week I have had such little energy, using every ounce I can muster to make it through work and that's pretty much it. But I did it, I made it through my day, I handled my business and now I am treating myself (and Lulu) to a delicious and nutritious hot vegan meal!

I want to savor these last few months before Lulu's born and enjoy every moment before life changes forever. I ate in gratitude, for all that is abundant in my life right now, and all that is about to come. I was reflecting on how nice it is to be able to afford to treat myself to healthy food. It also feels good to acknowledge my own efforts and perseverance at a job well done!

Here we have a glass noodle salad with soy shrimp and soy fish, kind of hard to tell from the pic. I ordered extra soy fish as we need extra protein. And I ate the whole plate! We loved it.

Cheers!

A case of "the tireds"

Many people have told me "get your sleep and your rest now, b/c when the baby comes, it'll be 18 or so years until you sleep sound again." Lol.

One thing about pregnancy, is that it takes a lot of energy to grow a baby! Developing a 8-9 lb baby from a little seed is a lot of work!

So yesterday I had one of those days, which I had quite a few of in the first trimester where I just could not keep my eyes open! It took everything I had to make it through work and I was just scraping by. I was just so exhausted, almost falling asleep in the car, yawning non-stop at work, groggy headed and I passed out on the bed with the lights on at 9:30 pm, lol!  I woke up early this morning and took another 2 naps right away.

I feel better now. Had to skip yoga this morning for rest. You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em and today my body needed rest more than anything. And water, lots and lots of water. I guess all the extra blood and baby parts my body is producing has to come from somewhere. I have also had a very hearty appetite.

Anyhow, I may not be writing for a bit b/c Esme, Marcelo and I are volunteering on "The Green Team" at The Joshua Tree Music Festival all weekend! Woot woot! Camping and music and dancing and nature! Since we're volunteers we get a free event pass, free camping, and 5 catered meals. Super woot!

We will be picking up and sorting recycling materials. If I was any more preggers I'd surely need one of those grabby arm extensions to be able to manage, but I think I should be fine, lol. Can't wait to do some outdoor yoga as well!

Then, when we get back Marcelo and I and a bunch of our friends leave for Playa Del Carmen!

Our good friends Pyari and Courtland are having a destination wedding in tropical paradise! Cannot wait! Also, grateful for the folks that will be house sitting for us this trip as well to take care of our furry friends.

So excited and so blessed for all the goodness, health, and vitality in our lives. We are truly lucky people. This baby is gonna be well travelled by the time he's born, hehe. I also just read about the concept of "babymooning," which is kind of like a honeymoon when couples are pregnant. So yes, we will definitely have to enjoy and live it up on our last travels as a couple! I imagine travelling might be a tad more involved once the baby is here, hehe!

Yay! Then, even after that are my favorite holidays: Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos, then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Omg cannot handle all the merriment that's about to be had!

May we all be blessed and continue to enjoy good health, family, friends, and love!

xoxoxo

Drumroll Please...........

We're having a BOY!!

 

 

 

I am more excited than I have ever been about anything in my entire life! It's hard to describe in words the joy and gratitude I feel in this whole experience. I was brought to tears as we watched the ultrasound and got to see our growing, moving sweet baby boy. And yes, I did have a feeling about it. I referred to the baby as "him" to the nurse and she said "Oh, so you already know?" I said "yeah, I had a feeling!." Here are some pics from Tuesdays appointment:

 

 

Cute little face looking at you pic:

Kind of scary pic:

 

Boy confirmation pic!:

 

 

Amazing and gorgeous spine pic:

Cute lil chunk sleeping in the nest pic: 

 

 

So yes, the babe is doing wonderfully and growing nicely as you can see. He is now about 10 inches long and the size of a carrot! He weighs about 1/4 of a pound and has regular sleep/wake cycles. I felt him kick for the first time the week, it is so cute and sweet, feels like a little butterfly fluttering around.  It was really great talking with many of you this weekend to share our joyful news and catch up in general! Sorry if I missed you on Sunday. 

 

So now, of course I am crazy for baby stuff and Halloween costumes are the absolute cutest! Here is one of my faves that I saw:

 

I have been very blessed to be feeling well. I've been having just a bit of low back pain sometimes in the mornings and it definitely takes some adjusting to having a growing changing body in general. I am still exercising regularly, although, I can no longer do a "booty drop" when I'm dancing, lol. And trust me I found out the hard way on Saturday when being silly with some girlfriends. Ha!

Walking really helps with the minor back pain and this week I got my first pregnancy massage! It was a Thai massage and it felt sooooo good. She spent a lot of time on my back, it was pretty much heaven! I will definitely be back as much as I can.

 This past weekend, I also had the most amazing opportunity to model for an artist, Jana, whom I met at a festival over the summer. This was a show called "Cholocate and Art" in downtown LA which featured live body painting by several different artists, a large gallery, bands, and vendors. So fun, and it was great having so much love infused into my belly. Jana spent 2-3 hours on it and I love it. What a fun night!

 Here we are in the beginning stages.

 

 

 

 Finished product:

 

Esme joined and was also a model. How cool!

 

Jana and I.

 

 

Pic of the enormous belly! I swear it gets bigger at night :-)

 

 

 

So overall it was a great week. I was super busy but still made time last Sunday to cook. I cook in large quantities and eat the same lunch usually for 4 days and freeze some too. This week was a hearty veggie chili and tofu/egg drop soup. Super delicious!

 

 

 

 Marcelo's Mom takes such good care of us. Her food is so good and made and packaged with so much love :-)

 

 

I'm trying to eat a variety of super foods. Here we have steamed asparagus.

 

I try to eat a large dark green salad 4-5 times per week, at least. For me, it's all about the dressing. This will be a delicious (seriously soo good) orange ginger miso dressing once blended.

 

The finished product. Health and vitality in a bowl, seriously raw veggies super charge me. Spinach, romaine, red pepper, shaved parmesan and miso dressing. Perfect!

 

In my first trimester I couldn't eat (lost my taste) for avocado. It's back! This will be 2 servings of guac. The spice on top is cumin. Delicious.

 

 

And of course, dessert! A melty HOT FUDGE sunday. mmmmmm.

 

 

Have a great week!