Long Beach Livin'

My life this week via iPhone photos:

1. Perfectly imperfect contrasting rust on an old VW

2. The best modern chair ever from my favorite Retro Row store

3. Plants so perfect they look fake + make me feel like I'm in Oompa Loompa land

4 & 6. Feet kicked up enjoying a fruit smoothie in newly cleaned house

5. Yummy panini bites from TJ's with mozzarella, pesto + red pepper spread 

7. Long Beach apts have so much color and character

8. Sundays are for eating the biggest brunch of the week

9. Showing off our couples maternity photos to his work friends

10. Bought a cute cup of lemonade from some kids in the park on my walk

11. Mother in Law came and went leaving us with full bellies and baby goodies

12. My chefman looking so sharp in his new work attire

Follow along on Instagram for daily updates!

Username: dreynicole

Drey $ Nicole

Dear Baby: Week 38

DEAR BABY,

NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST WEEK. THE DR. DIDN'T CHECK FOR DILATION PROGRESSION AT THIS WEEKS APPOINTMENT BUT WITH ALL THE CRAMPING I'VE BEEN HAVING, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGE. IT'S BEEN VERY STEADY AND CONSISTENT FOR A FEW DAYS NOW AND I JUST KEEP WONDERING, IS THIS IT?! SHE SAID I WILL KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT WHEN IT REALLY IS TIME THOUGH, AND I WON'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK MYSELF. WE FINALLY WENT AND PRE-REGISTERED AT THE HOSPITAL AND BOY, IS IT NICE. WE HAVE OUR OWN PRIVATE TOUR OF THE LABOR AND DELIVERY FLOOR NEXT WEEK AFTER THE DR. IF WE LAST THAT LONG (BUT I REALLY REALLY REEEEEALLY HOPE YOU'RE HERE BEFORE THAT!) YOU'RE MEASURING 37 CM AND YOU'RE IN HEAD DOWN POSITION, ALL READY TO GO. YOU MAKE THE BIGGEST MOVES NOW, SHIFTING MY BELLY SO DRASTICALLY THAT I JUST KNOW YOU'RE ABOUT TO FALL RIGHT OUT. I HOPED THAT YOU WOULD COME EITHER YESTERDAY ON THE 24TH, OR TOMORROW ON THE 26TH BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE THOSE NUMBERS. YOUR GRANDPA SAYS TOMORROW WOULD BE NEAT BECAUSE 26 IS DOUBLE 13, SO IT'D BE EASY TO REMEMBER 6/26/13. I'VE BEEN RESEARCHING ALL THE WAYS TO JUMP START THE PROGRESS BUT NOT BECAUSE I'M TIRED OR MISERABLE, I'M JUST SO ANXIOUS AND EXCITED TO MEET YOU! WE'RE SO READY LITTLE BABE. YOUR CLOTHES, CRIB, CARSEAT, TOYS, SWING...EVERYTHING IS IN PLACE AND ALL WE NEED IS YOU TO COMPLETE OUR LITTLE WORLD. WE LOVE YOU TIMES INFINITY! XOXO MAMABEAR

Long Beach Livin'

My life this week via iPhone photos:

1. Catching rays at the Marriott pool with family

2. G surprised me with classic Little Golden books for baby on Mother's Day

3. Dinner on sunset at sunset after going to Jimmy Kimmel Live

4. I've got me an origami swan making husband

5. Jalapeno, tomato, cilantro + cheese omelet with avocado and homemade biscuits & gravy - my favorite! Thanks to my chefman as usual

6. These two were wiped out after an afternoon at the dog beach

7. Practicing!

8. In love with these hanging planter displays at Free People right now

Follow along on Instagram for daily updates!

Username: dreynicole

Drey $ Nicole

Our First Baseball Game!

Wednesday night we went to our very first baseball game together, which doubled as my very first one in California! The stadium was much different than our in Texas. Half of it was open, showing mountains in the distance and cars sweeping by on the highway. They not only have hotdogs and the usual concessions food, but fast food places too like Panda Express and Jack in the Box! We went with the tradition bag of peanuts and G taught me how to crack them with the perfect form. I was so excited over it! Even though we weren't "fans" of either team, we enjoyed going just for the baseball atmosphere. The Angels did win though so we were surrounded by happy people and got to see some fireworks at the end! We both love baseball and it's been a family affair of mine growing up, so for us this was the start of many trips. We were surrounded by little babies and we couldn't stop talking about how much fun it's going to be bringing our little babe along very soon! 

Drey $ Nicole

 

Dear Baby: Week 37

DEAR BABY,

THE END IS NEAR! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. IT FEELS LIKE IT'S KIND OF BEEN A BREEZE AND AT 37 WEEKS I THOUGHT I'D BE MISERABLE BY NOW. INSTEAD I FEEL MORE ENERGIZED AND HEALTHY THAN EVER. I DON'T HAVE TROUBLE BREATHING OR FEEL TENSE OR TIRED. I ONLY START TO WADDLE WHEN I'VE WALKED 7 MILES IN A DAY AND MY SHOES START GETTING UNCOMFORTABLE. IT'S EASY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN THOUGH BECAUSE THEY'VE SPREAD AND THEY'RE MOSTLY ALL TOO TIGHT IN THE WIDTH, BUT NOT THE LENGTH. I DIDN'T GAIN A SINGLE POUND THIS WEEK AND THE DR. SAYS WE'RE DOING SO SO GOOD. IT'S THE WALKING, AND WE'RE GONNA DO EVEN MORE OF IT WHEN YOU'RE OUT! YOU WILL SMELL THIS FRESH OCEAN AIR AND I WILL WORK ON THE POUNDS I GLADLY PUT IN FOR YOU, ALL WHILE LOOKING AT YOUR SWEET FACE IN FRONT OF ME. IT'S GONNA BE GREAT! I'M CURRENTLY 1.5 CM DILATED AND 50% EFFACED. YOU MIGHT BE SMALL BECAUSE YOU MEASURED AT 36 WEEKS EVEN THOUGH WE'RE STILL 37, BUT IT MAY JUST BE BECAUSE I WAS STARVING AND MY EMPTY STOMACH MADE IT A LITTLE FLATTER THAN USUAL. ONE OF YOUR GRANDMAS CAME FOR A SHORT VISIT THIS WEEK. WE WENT TO FIVE DIFFERENT STORES ALL OVER THE COUNTY TO FIND YOU THE PERFECT SWING. IT'S PRETTY FANCY! I KNOW YOU WERE GRATEFUL BECAUSE YOU KICKED FOR HER WHEN WE FINALLY FOUND IT. YOU CAN COME ANY TIME NOW, BABY. YOU'RE FULL TERM AND READY, AND WE'RE ALL READY FOR YOU OUT HERE! EVERYONE'S WAITING AND WE ALL LOVE YOU! XOXO MAMABEAR

Repeat Button

Yesterday while out on a walk I had the usual Amy Winehouse pandora station playing in my ears. As soon as I heard this voice, I immediately snapped out of my endorphin daze and reached for my phone to hit that little "thumbs up" icon. I was surprised to see a young white man on the album cover with all that rasp and soul, much like Amy. Since then I've found some of his videos online and can't stop hitting repeat. Take a listen!

Also, I'm doing all of this from the tiny little screen of my iPhone which is very tedious and time consuming. Something started going wrong with my laptop about a week ago and I used G's for backup, but now his it out as well. So frustrating! Hopefully all will be fixed soon because I have lots of baby posts that need to happen and before I know it he'll be here! Fingers crossed it's something simple.

Drey $ Nicole

Dear Baby: Week 36

DEAR BABY,

YOU'RE GETTING SO BIG THAT SOME NIGHTS YOU MAKE MY BELLY HEART SHAPED WHEN YOU'RE SQUIRMING AROUND IN THERE. YOUR HEAD AND YOUR KNEES POP OUT AND YOUR LITTLE BUM PUSHES INWARD TOWARD MY BACK MAKING IT SOMETIMES HARD TO BREATH. IT LOOKS NEAT THOUGH! WE DIDN'T GET TO TAKE THE HOSPITAL TOUR BECAUSE WHEN WE CALLED TO SCHEDULE IT THEY INFORMED US THAT THEY ONLY HAVE ONE A MONTH. THIS MONTHS HAS ALREADY COME AND GONE, AND YOU WILL ALREADY BE HERE BY NEXT MONTHS TOUR. INSTEAD WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO A PRACTICE RUN TO THE HOSPITAL AND FIND OUR WAY ON OUR OWN, AND THEN PRE REGISTER AS PLANNED. IT'S GETTING SO CLOSE IT'S SCARY! LAST NIGHT WE WENT TO A LITTLE OLD FASHIONED DINER AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? MY BELLY WOULDN'T FIT BETWEEN THE BOOTH AND THE TABLE! I KNOW PEOPLE WERE TINIER BACK IN THE DAY, BUT STILL! I LOST TWO POUNDS AT THIS WEEKS DR. VISIT AND SHE WAS VERY PLEASED. EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD AS USUAL AND YOU'RE GROWING PERFECTLY ON TRACK. YOUR HEARTBEAT IS FAST AND STRONG EVERY TIME. SHE ALSO SAID THAT I LOST THE "MUCUS PLUG" AND WE'RE BOTH MAKING CHANGES TO PREPARE FOR LABOR. SOUNDS GROSS BUT I HAVE TO DOCUMENT THESE THINGS! SHE DIDN'T CHECK TO SEE IF I'VE DILATED ANYMORE, SHE'S GOING TO DO THAT EVERY OTHER WEEK, SO WE'LL SEE NEXT TIME! CAN I JUST TELL YOU THAT I'M OBSESSED WITH YOU AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN HERE YET? THE LAST THING I DO BEFORE I FALL ASLEEP AT NIGHT IS STARE AT YOUR 3D PHOTOS ON MY PHONE, AND THEN AGAIN IN THE MORNING AND EVERY TIME I PASS BY THE FRIDGE. YOU MAKE ME SMILE SO BIG EVERY TIME, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT YOU'LL DO TO ME WHEN YOU'RE OUT! WE LOVE YOU TOOTS! XOXO MAMABEAR

A peek at our baby in 3D

Here is our little babe in 3D at 34 weeks! We drove an hour to our appointment and were so excited to see him, and then he had his back toward us. We tried getting him to move by turning side to side, chugging ice cold water, walking around and peeing. He didn't budge. We were forced to move on for the sake of others piling up in the waiting room, but we were fortunate enough to snag an opening spot 3 hours later. Since we were an hour from home we killed time by eating lunch, doing a little shopping, and sucking down a reeses blast just before heading back. We were told anything cold and sweet would help him to move. Move he did, but this time he was blocking his face with his sweet little fists. After twisting and turning up on the table again, and having two people team up to push on my belly full of ice cream, he finally gave up and showed us a quick little peek at that preciously plump face of his. We got tons of photos and  a video of the whole session so we can see him moving around in there any time we want. They even went into HD at the end, which shows him so clearly it looks like he's just under bath water.  He was moving his lips and trying to open and close his eyes, and his cheeks just melt us into a big puddle. I can't wait to kiss this little babe. WE ARE SO IN LOVE!

Drey $ Nicole

Babyshower Cookout Day

Last Sunday we had our second babyshower/cookout party (G's work family threw him a surprise one earlier) and it turned out great. Although the weather was a bit more gloomy than we had hoped for with a sharp chill in the air, it didn't stop us from following our plans. Our friend Nicole gave us her big yard for the day and everyone brought their pups, including our Bentleys of course, to celebrate their human brother coming soon and to run around and mingle together all afternoon. G cooked fajitas on the grill, along with spanish rice + beans, and his famous homemade salsa and guacamole that was gone in an hour. There were beers, babies and babes and even though I couldn't drink I had a good time. Plus someone had to drive my over-enthusiastic husband home who may have celebrated the babe just a little too hard. It's one of his last chances to do it for awhile though, so I'm not mad about that. We got lots more clothes, cards, diapers (both cloth and disposable), and even a baby food processor! G is so excited about that one, being a chef. He's been talking about making the baby his own homemade food since before there was even a baby in question. I loved seeing so many of our friends from different groups, ages and even states come together to celebrate this little boy in my belly, and I can't wait until he's here in just 3 short weeks to meet them all. Plus all of these new things have me so much more anxious and excited for him to come so I can dress him in his adorable clothes and read to him with his new books and watch his face light up when he rattles his toys. I am so thankful for our friends!

Drey $ Nicole

Long Beach Livin'

My life this week via iPhone photos:

 

  1. We did our couples maternity photoshoot and this guy looked so handsome

2. I want all of these yummy scrumptious soy candles from Target

3. Got my car baby ready: cleaned, carseat in, mirror + baby on board sign hung

4. A 34 week ikea run / Does this bag make my belly look big?

5. Pistachio, orange + coffee macarons are our faves

6. Obsessed with all of the purple trees

7. Went to Jimmy Kimmel live featuring Ed Helm + Jewel

8. I'm addicted to planting succulents lately

9. We decided Trader Joe's Pizza over all pizza chains

10. Pure America

Follow along on Instagram for daily updates!

Username: dreynicole

Drey $ Nicole

Rosie Pope Maternity Fashion Show

Last week while walking through The Grove, we came across a little maternity fashion show and book signing party for Rosie Pope of "Pregnant in Heels." We were lucky to have been let in at the last minute because of my ever so obvious bump. We got to enjoy sparking lemonade and the yummiest cupcakes of my life from Sparkles Cupcakes. Everything was set up so pretty and chic and we were surrounded by lots of fellow preggers. After indulging in our treats and taking everything in, Rosie came out for a few photos with fans and the fashion show began. She showed off her new maternity line and took questions from anxious moms-to-be seeking advice. It was such a treat to have stumbled upon and the perfectly relevant event for me to attend on a nice afternoon.

Drey $ Nicole