A delayed update... 35 weeks and 3 days plus life!

Chalkboard photo missing! :) 35 weeks and 3 days 

How Far Along:   35 weeks and 3 days

Size of Baby:  5 1/2 lbs and 20 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Up a total of 19 lbs, 3 of which were in the last week and a half! I guess that's OK considering the babe is packing on the pounds now (1lb in the last week).

Maternity Clothes: Maternity clothes.  Starting to get a little tired of the options...even some of the maternity shirts don't fit anymore.

Movement: Lots of movement.  One of my favorite moments was sitting at the airport in Philadelphia for a connection and a door alarm went of that was super loud - and made the baby jump and start squirming! So I guess we can say that he/she has hearing right now (hopefully still has hearing after that alarm!)

Sleep:  I sleep really well when I get to sleep, but the last few weeks have been non-stop so getting to bed at a decent time has been a challenge.

What I miss:  Sushi.  Lucas keeps asking me when we can go to sushi which is killing me! There are tons of sushi places around our new house.

Cravings:  I think I am still onto lemonade and potatoes.

Symptoms:  Starting to get back aches but this may be due to all the unpacking we've been doing.  I move a little slower (maybe with a slight waddle, Lucas says), but am still getting out most days for a long walk with Bentley.  Feeling pretty good still.

Best Moment this week:  This week has had some good moments and bad moments...mostly due to the stress of moving across the country at 35 weeks pregnant.  

The good:  

-We arrived in NY safely! 

-The moving truck arrived the same day that we arrived which meant we actually had beds to sleep on the first night! 

-I really like my new doctor's office - I met with one doc yesterday who was really great (I loved his style - dress pants, dress shirt, bow tie, but sleeves were rolled up and he was wearing sneakers!).  Next week I have an ultrasound to determine the baby's weight, Strep B test and pre-register for the hospital so I skip that step when I come in.  -Our crib arrived (but needs to be assembled!)

-Our new neighborhood is really really pretty and we are about a 10 minute walk to the beach/harbor which is gorgeous.

The bad:

-Unpacking

-Not having any storage devices to unpack the hundreds of books we have (although we did buy some yesterday at IKEA, but have to now asememble).

-No blinds in the master bedroom which is also the front of the house - and going to Lowes to find out their blind cutter is broken, so we have to wait!

-Lucas starting orientation and only have one more day "off" before he starts residency! :(

Random Updates: See above!

Picture for the week...

And just some random ones from the week...

The moving truck. We actually would recommend going this route again, although if we weren't having to do this on a budget, I would definitely go full-service moving company.

We had Peg and Cliff out for the past few days (they helped L drive across the country).  In between their help unpacking everything, we headed to the Mets vs Angels game on Father's Day.

Citi Field was a pretty cool stadium...a lot like Coors Field.

L and Cliff's handiwork- a fence for Bentley! 

Morning walk - Bentley loves the beach and "hunting" the ducks

Not sure if dogs are allowed off-leash, but it's so quiet in the morning, I figure no one cares

Just staring at the ducks..but would never get close to the water.

Will update more when we get the house in order! 

24 Weeks 2 Days

How Far Along:  24 weeks and 2 days 

Size of Baby:  All these fruit descriptions sound the same... so we'll leave that out this week! Baby King should weigh in at about 1lb 4-8oz.  

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I don't think I've gained any since last week.  Up for a total of probably about 7lbs (sure doesn't look like it though).

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.  

Movement:  Yes - Baby King likes to hang out right below my right rib these days.  Lucas has felt the babe going wild in there a couple of times.

Sleep:  Loving my sleep right now

What I miss:  A cold wheat beer - I will definitely be excited to enjoy one with Lucas once the babe arrives.  

Cravings: French fries? Haven't given in to this temptation yet, but watch out this week.  

Symptoms:  Itchy patches - ewww. I don't know if this is pregnancy related or what.  Also, we hit 90 degrees last week and my feet were definitely doubling in size.

Best Moment this week:  24 weeks is considered "viability" - ie. if the babe were to come, there is a good chance he/she could survive (of course after a long NICU stay).  Obviously we would like the babe to stay put in there and cook for at least 13 more weeks (this mama's gotta move, mmkay?), but it's great to know that he/she would be given a chance even with an early arrival.  

Random Updates: PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING. We are finalizing a moving company, thinking about logistics of actually getting everyone across the country, and starting to inventory our house for craigslist/garage sale/goodwill.  And lastly, we likely found the house in Stony Brook that we will be in for at least the next year.  More to come once we sign the lease (from afar...are we crazy? possibly). 

24 weeks 2 days

A self take - Lucas needed to be included! 

Baptism

On March 21, Lucas was baptized at our church here in Redlands, The River CRC.  It was such a cool service - not only did they welcome new members and do profession of faith, but also had several baptisms....AND A WEDDING.  Yes, a wedding! A couple at our church were struggling financially and the River offered to pay for a wedding and have it done at the end of the service.  It was a huge testimony to God's redeeming love as this is a couple that had struggled for years with drugs, alcohol, prison etc.  If you're interested, you can watch the service online by clicking here (March 20th morning service).  

After church we had lunch with lots of friends at Olive Ave Market (my favorite here in Redlands).  It was such an encouragement to know that God has blessed us with great friends in Redlands even in such a short period of time.  I cling to that and His faithfulness that He will provide all that we need as we make the transition to New York life.

New York New York

I should have seen it coming.  There were "signs" everywhere:


-My mom made us a fleece car seat cover and brought it out a couple weeks.  Sorry mom, but at first I didn't think it would get much use (fleece in Loma Linda? in Texas? no way!).  I retract my initial opinion!


-Elisa was cleaning out her garage and came across some stroller "mitts" (built in gloves for me to push the stroller with) which I thought may be a good idea for when I travel back to Colorado.  But now I think I will be using them quite often between the months of Nov and April.


-Sarah sent me a cute 3mo fuzzy onesie.  Enough said - that will be used for sure! 


-And last but not least, on our way to the match ceremony (where we received our envelope), JayZ's "New York" was on the radio.  Ironic? I think no.


So the night before the match celebration, I had a revelation of where I thought we would be going:

But here's what happened in reality....

So we're off... to STONY BROOK, NEW YORK (LONG ISLAND)

Weekends Away...

Before the babe arrives, Lucas and I are definitely getting our fix of weekend getaways! In the past two weeks, we've made it up to Petaluma and out to Phoenix (just in time to pay nearly $4/gallon at the pump, lovely).  


Last weekend we headed out to sunny Phoenix to FINALLY visit my dear friend, Lobelia and her husband Mike.  They graciously agreed to Lucas' non-negotiable request to see a Giants game during Spring Training.  We were lucky to get seats for the sold out game rather than standing room only which meant literally standing on the concrete aisle/walkway for the whole game.  

Lobelia and I trying not to roast in the sun

I hope this is no predictor of the Giants season because they lost pretty miserably to the Oakland As (0-5).  I was disappointed to not see my favorite Giant, Brian Wilson (Zach Galifianakis anyone??) or to see the new and improved (down several lbs), Sandoval "Panda".  Just the old timer, Pat Burrell who in my opinion should have retired last year after the big win.  

After the game we met up with one of my good Westmont friends, Jessie and her fiancee Robert at a swanky place in Scottsdale, The Culinary Dropout.  They had amazing pretzels that you dip in melted provolone cheese, but not so amazing service in my opinion.  

Jessie and I - she makes me look even paler if that is even possible

Sunday we went to Liberty Market, a really great breakfast place in Gilbert, followed by a service at L and M's new church.  


We had a great weekend with great hosts! :) Hopefully we can squeeze a few more of these weekend getaways in before 1. L starts residency and 2. the babe arrives! 

Welcome and a recap

The King's Musings...

 I've always wanted to blog. Lucas thinks it's a little weird and says he will only contribute minimally. I will give credit to Lucas for the title of our blog. Right now he's mocking me and verbally blogging everything that he is doing right now. So long story short, I'm hoping to become a consistent blogger, but I don't know if I have the full support that I was hoping for! 

Life is about to become a little more crazy than it already has been over, well, basically since we've been married.  Let's recap (mostly for my sake since I've never been a journaler and I know one day I will struggle to remember this).

July 11, 2008 We tie the knot after Lucas' first year of medical school.  We make the move to Loma Linda.

September 2008 We welcome Bentley King into our family and can't imagine life without our large snuggly Boxer

Spring 2009 was the Spring of never-ending studying.  I can not even count the number for hours Lucas spent studying for Step 1 (National Boards).  I do not have any photo evidence of this, but I do have receipts from Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Denny's (who studies at Denny's?)

Summer 2009 Vacations but back to school too fast for Lucas to start rotations

School year 2009-2010 Is a BLUR.  Lucas lives at the hospital.  Bentley and I become bonded for life through walks and trips to the dog park.

February 2010 I completed my first marathon (Pasadena) which meant that the months prior to this were filled with very long Saturday morning runs.

Summer 2010 Lucas transitions from 3rd year to the coveted 4th year, but soon learns it's not as relaxed as one would hope, especially if you're going into orthopedics.

September 2010 Lucas heads to a rotation in Georgetown (DC) and is hosted by the lovely Pastuseks.  I got to come out the last weekend he was there for a visit.

October-November 2010 Lucas and I spend 5 weeks in Colorado while he rotates at CU.

November 8, 2010 We learn that Baby King will arrive sometime in July 2011 while in Colorado.  

December 2010-January 2011 Lucas does his own type of marathon - interview marathon! He stops in at 11 different schools in California, Colorado, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, and Texas.  We find out March 17 where we're headed to!  Let's pray that he never made this face in an interview.

So my hopes for this blog is share with you the musings or day to day happenings in the King family.