Week 23: my first "Mother-to-be" Day!

At the end of last week my mom's dog Elvis passed away. We don't know what brought it on but the weekend we moved he got sick. As a result his breathing became really shallow and he was having a hard time moving. His old age and weight problem didn't help haha. He seemed like he was getting better though and my mom saw him playing with his toys and eating again. He passed away the next day. I used to not like this dog when I was younger. He'd pee when he'd get excited and was so awkward looking. 14 years later we move to Colorado and for some reason I got attached. He reminded me of an old smelly man. He'd yap at nothing, get so annoyed with Zero and fart randomly throughout the day. But he loved to snuggle up to me and would lay under Marco's feet everyday while he worked. He'd get so excited to go on walks and would hop, yes hop, the entire way. He'd lay on my belly and just stare up at me, lovingly. My mom never understood his infatuation with me haha. Anyways, Marco and I are so grateful we got to spend the last 2 months of his life with him. He seemed to get his youth back and enjoyed all the time and attention he received. I will think of him fondly and appreciate all the time we have with our Zero and Luna. :)

 

Elvis cuddling my bump and staring up at me. We received this little hat for Zoe and just couldn't resist having him model it. He was a great sport! RIP Elvis <3

 

Needless to say I've been an emotional wreck this past week. A moment that stands out is when Marco and I were at Wendy's, of all places. We were eating our food and chatting like we always do. I brought up Elvis and started crying right in the middle of Wendy's. This happened about 3 times through the course of a half hour meal. haha. We laughed about it later wondering what the people around us thought. Most likely they thought Marco was saying something really mean to me haha. For anyone who knows me, I'm not a cryer. At all. So we definitely know it's the increased hormones that is causing my out of character fits of tears.

 

For Mother's Day I took my mom, Marco and my mom's "little sister" Taryn to the Denver Aquarium. They served a nice buffet brunch but the scenery was something else. They had a HUGE live aquarium in the dining hall. Best of all mermaids would swim around as part of a show for kids. Although the adults (especially the men haha) enjoyed that part as well.

 

The view from our booth! Our waiter taught us that fish can be trained basically using Pavlov's teaching techniques. This is how you can put different species of fish together without them eating each other.

 

The whole gang

A mermaid, plus a smiling stingray.  

This bird was as high up as he could get. When I walked over and started talking to him he came down to the closest position he could and just stared at me and was being really playful. When I was walking away the bird went back to the highest position again and watched me walk away. Marco is now even more convinced I am an 'animal whisperer".

I love sharks. So fascinating; so scary, but still I'm so intrigued by them. My mom thought these sharks were "plant eaters". Ummm...yea. Must be some crazy strong plants to need those teeth. haha

Me petting the stingrays. This is always my favorite part of any aquarium. I'll sit for as long as I can petting them and watching them. As you can see my sleeve is wet because I just had to stick my arm as far into the water as possible. I would have jumped in if they let me! We got to feed them too which was pretty awesome. And don't worry, their stinging barbs are removed.

At first I thought it was some sort of coral/plant life. Then I saw the tenticles. Yes, this is a freaking live octopus. Incredible!

 

It's funny, Marco and I were getting some lessons in parenting, or lack there of, from some of the people in attendance. What we would do differently while out in public with our child was more the lesson we learned. Situations like that always prove to us, even more, that we are a great team and are on the same page with how we wish to teach and treat our children. Every now and again we look at each other like, 'are you sure you want kids?' haha. While of course we know the answer is yes and we're so excited to bring little Zoe into the world, it's a scary thought thinking about who her peers will be and what their parents' are teaching them to become.

Our first family photo. Just a little bump but I assure you it's growing! 23 weeks 1 day here.

 

How far along: 23 weeks 5 days (Ear of corn: 8.5in, 1.5lbs)

Symptoms: I've been really hot lately, even when Marco isn't. I catch myself sticking my head out the window randomly and wearing shorts when it's raining. Poor Marco cant' put his hand on mine without me pulling away. It's not you it's me I swear haha. I'm more hungry (just had a chicken bowtie pasta meal with house salad and coke from Johnny Carino's. An hour later I'm hungry - I'm in trouble haha), my back hurts, I get small random nose bleeds (totally normal), it's getting harder to stand up or move quickly, my feet hurt faster and I have to walk around  more frequently otherwise my legs fall asleep or get stiff. I've also been getting leg cramps the past few nights. I haven't had any more issues with numb wrists, hands or arms. I read how it's common in pregnancy to get temorpary carpal tunnel syndrome (along with everything else). I'm just more aware now of how I lay on my arms or hands and try to stretch them out when I've been typing for a long period of time. Other than that I feel good and energy level is high.

Aversions: none that I can think of
 

Cravings: milk and chocolate

Wedding Rings: on
 

Belly button: still in
 

Sleep: On my right side with no covers and the window open...so HOT!! I wake up in the middle of the night just to drink water.
 

Excited for: Our 24 week check up is next Wednesday. :) Flying back to Cali to visit. My friend here had an extra ticket so we switched it into my name and we're flying back June 11-17th together. I'll be working during the week as normal at the Irvine office but anyone who wants to grab lunch or meet up after 5pm let me know! I'd love to see you all. That Sunday is Father's Day so I'm really happy I get to spend it with my dad. :)

Fears: right now I just worry about her development. Am I doing anything that could hurt her developmentally? Am I eating the right things? Getting enough nutritional foods to her?
 

Missing: eating and drinking as much caffeine as I want. You're only supposed to have 1-2 cups a day, less if possible. I'm pretty good about stearing clear of it but it's in chocolate, coffee and sodas. CHOCOLATE PEOPLE!!?!?!?!? AHHH!! We bought Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream last night, but I had a coke today at lunch so I can't eat my ice cream until tomorrow. Most people don't have to think about this stuff...I do and it makes me sad. haha
 

Movement: She's moving right now lol (it's the caffeine). She moves constantly and with more power now. Yesterday my arm was resting on my belly and her movement was so big that I saw my arm move. She's just growing so quickly. :)
 

Exercise: Walked around the aquarium, took the dogs for a walk, walked to lunch today.