Back from a Ba-cation

Finally, a new post!! So, here are a few quick remarks:

(1) Sorry for not posting for a bamillion years! (Bamillion means "a billion and a million," as sleep-delirious Jean once told Tim in the middle of the night. She also told him that she was going to be "the giant, red-headed.... wait, I don't have a hat..." Haha.) I promise that Tim and I haven't been enlisted for the next Biosphere project. I just haven't posted for a few weeks because nothing really happened in our lives for awhile after that last post, and because my pregnancy continues to move as sloooooow as ever, and really hasn't been that exciting. (But more on that later.)

(2) Tim and I, among all of the inhabitants of the earth, seem to have the coolest, sweetest, most rock-it-out-wicked-awesome network of family and friends ever. A huge thank you to you guys for your super-nice comments about our pregnancy. I was actually really excited to start telling people, because I know a lot of you have probably wondered when Tim and I were finally going to expand our coupily to a full-fledged family. Thanks so much. You all made sharing the news really special and really fun. (And a P.S. to all our homies who are far, far away -- WE MISS YOU!!!)

(3) If you ever want to up the comment count on your own blog, announce a pregnancy. People freak out.

Anyway, Tim is back at school for Term #4, and the club that he started a few months ago, Working Title, is up and running again. They're probably going to have some really cool, renowned entertainment artists come and speak this term, possibly including Syd Mead, if all goes to plan. (If you're an avid reader, you may recall his name from the Comic-Con post.) So, exciting times for Timmy. I've been working from home as usual, and I've had some trips recently (first to South Dakota, where I spent three hours one morning driving around in the middle of nowhere among sky, field, and dirt road, trying to find a certain fractional development, if that makes any sense; and then to the Tri-Cities, where I learned a little bit about viticulture -- a word I never knew existed -- and ate a really stupendous crab cake). Anyway, it was good times, and my boss is certainly keeping me busy, because he knows that I'll be transitioning to maternity leave and then part-time work come February. This upcoming week, I'll be in Austin, Texas, for two new projects, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep wearing my same black work pants a little longer.

Speaking of expanding waistlines, I'm STILL wearing my same clothes, and I'm 18 weeks now!! Actually, nearly 19 weeks!! So, question: when do you start to show for real? I'm very disappointed in my uterus that I don't look pregnant yet. People have asked Tim whether I'm showing, and the answer, sadly, is still "not really...". At least not to the casual observer -- I can tell that my belly is starting to swell a tiny bit, but not enough to warrant maternity clothes just yet, and certainly not enough for people to tell that I'm clearly pregnant. What a bummer... nine months is a long, slow time!! On the upside, I'm feeling well, and I guess everything is proceeding normally. Oh, and I can feel the baby move now! That's truly incredible, knowing that there's a little living thing inside me. Weird. My next ultra-sound is October 19th, so with luck, Tim and I will finally discover the baby's gender at that appointment. Then we can finally start buying things, and piling them on top of our kitchen table, sofa, and bed, because there's nowhere else to put things. (At least until we fashion a baby room out of our current bedroom, move our bedroom to the office, and move our office to the dining room. Ahh, cramped city living.) :-)

Tim and I have had some fun baby-cuddling over the past few weeks. Tim went home to PA for a week at the end of August, and was able to get to know our little nephew Killian a bit. (He's so cute!!) Then, last weekend, I visited my little niece Kailyn in Washington and was able to get to know her a bit. (She's also so cute!!) Isn't it funny that over the past couple months, Tim and I gained a nephew and a niece, one on each side of our families, and only two weeks apart in age?? And that they're named Killian and Kailyn?? Say it fast enough, and it sounds the same. Crazy.

So, the title of this post refers to my recent visit with Kailyn, which was a wonderful "ba-cation" (baby vacation) where I just got to relax and take care of a 7-week-old baby for three days. It was wonderful! She's very cuddly and easy-going. I got to feed her, change her, and hold her a whole bunch (including a few moments of her falling asleep on me, which, I must say, is the sweetest, most loving, most uplifting experience that one can share with a wee babe, and which really helped my teeny maternal instinct start to blossom). Anyway, I miss Kailyn terribly now, but it was a great learning experience for me, as cheesy as that sounds. I included some photos of this fun little ba-cation further below.

Liz, since you requested a pregnancy story, I will share one little tidbit that has been on my mind (not really a story, but more of a musing.) Most of my time nowadays is spent working, doing chores, planning my callings, engaging in social activities, and spending quality time with the hubby. But I've been thinking and daydreaming about pregnancy more and more as time has progressed, and usually it takes the form of Super Happy Lollipop Pregnancy Land, where I'm skipping along, feeling great and special and excited, and just really looking forward to a growing belly and a growing family. However, every now and then I stop in the middle of the sunny skipping field and realize that this baby WILL come out of me, somehow, somewhere, sometime, FOR CERTAIN. That's kind of a shocking realization. It's fun being pregnant, and it'll be fun being a mom, but I have a feeling that the transition won't be all that fun. I may even go so far to say that it will probably be PURE MISERY, with just a hint of "I want to die." Hahaha! Seriously, though. If you have any comments about this, feel free to share. Usually, after stopping mid-skip upon this realization, I slowly begin skipping again, although with a very concerned look on my face, only because I remember that "millions of women have done it" and "it will end" and "our bodies have no physical memories of pain," yada yada yada. However, it's still a little nerve-wracking, I must admit. :-)

In other, non-pregnancy news, Tim and I went to a Muse concert last night!!! It was wicked awesome. Tim's a huge fan, while I'm a new, unlearned fan (but a fan nonetheless). Their set design was spectacular, and Matthew Bellamy's piano and guitar work were phenomenal. They opened with Knights of Cydonia, my favorite song, and everyone was on their feet for the entire set. It was a great time. One funny thing about the concert was the second opening band, Juliette and the Licks, with lead singer Juliette Lewis!! Did anyone know that Juliette Lewis (aka "Don't laugh at me, Daniel!" from The Other Sister, etc.) started a band?? Once we got over our surprise, however, we realized that she can tear it up. She rolled around on the floor, bent over backwards, kicked all over the place, ran around the stage, and overall gave a really entertaining and, well, really athletic, performance.

Anyway, here are some photos of me, baby Kailyn, and her doting parents, which I know that my own parents will be delighted to see, given that they are desperately missing their grand-daughter who lives on the other side of the country. Enjoy, mom! And have a great week, y'all. (I'm practicing for Austin.)