merry christmas

have a wonderful holiday!
love!
kim and db and little pip

in just 10 weeks

in just (approximately) 10 weeks, we will officially be parents....
parents to a little human being, who will be breathing and living in this world with us.
this job is not to be taken lightly; and our responsibility is huge.
i am thankful we have each other; as i wouldn't want to do this alone
(yet there are many who do; and are incredibly successful and my hat goes off to each of them)
our dream is that we are great parents,
 ones who provide endless love and support, guidance and direction
my dream is that i am present and focused, and cherish each moment and each day,
i've heard a lot, that time will fly and we'll wish we had taken more time to simply enjoy the now.

second thanksgivings

if it happens twice, its tradition
and we have now had second thanksgivings, 2 years in a row.
DB cooks a full on Thanksgiving meal (mostly so he/we can have a fridge full of left overs)

(and in my glass; its pomegranate juice, in case you were wondering!)
Shannon has now joined us for a few years now, the friday after Thanksgiving to help us pick out the perfect Christmas tree


so its now a true tradition; and i vote we keep it this way

29 weeks

just a few days late...but better late than never.
29 weeks down.  11 to go.

holy moly! 
reality sunk in a bit this past weekend...
we purchased both the crib (which are like little kid cages)

and the car seat!

if i said, we're set and ready; i'd be totally lying.
but we are getting more ready....and thats good!

turkey trot 2012

DB and I completed our second family 5k together, this past Thanksgiving morning.
(our first one)
truly, what a fantastic way to start our Holiday together.


being that i haven't been running or training; surprisingly i ran 2.5 miles and walked 0.6 miles!!
pretty darn proud of 29 weeks-pregnant-self.
and honestly.....it felt so good!
like really good.

i am looking forward to logging the miles with Little Pip in our jogging stroller, spring 2013.
until then, i'll be enjoying my little acrobat and his daily tumbling routine happening in my abdomen

DB on the other hand has been running a bunch and enjoying the rewards of strength training!

happy belated thanksgiving, hope yours was a good one!

happy birthday little sister

you're all grown up now, being 28 and all.  :)
may this year provide more than you hope for, and may you continue to thrive in all that you do.

i enjoy you as my sister, and im excited for you to become Auntie J, 7th time around.
love you lots!

28 weeks.

time is flying by.  truly flying by.

here we are entering into another week, and im into my 28th week of this amazing pregnancy.
as depicted by the photos below; Pip has doubled in size! 
this little one has decided to grow a TON!
bending over is getting tough, making me feel OLD. 
putting on socks, yup, its no lie when i share my diaphragm is being smashed by my belly, making it hard to breathe:)  truly, its kind of funny how my body has changed so much, miraculous really,
but i have to laugh as such simple things have never been such a challenge
(putting on socks, bending over to get into the under counter cabinets, getting in/out of bed!)

i am so incredibly thankful the rain let up for today....because DB and I went running!
we are signed up for a thanksgiving day turkey trot (only a 5k); but I really wanted to see if could run at all....and i did a full mile.  it was a slow mile, but still none the less, a mile!
and then I walked 3!

it felt so incredibly good!
such a mood booster, and the emotional fix i didn't know i was needing; nonetheless my mood/attitude changed after our time on the trail, one of the benefits of running and loving to run.
yet, with that, i am thankful for the life that is growing inside of me, and 9 months truly isn't much time at all to modify my running....i must not forget that.

this past week i took, and passed, by glucose test!

i was pretty nervous that this test would make me sick, and possibly throw up;
but it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it was going to be.
my only side effect was crazy heart burn the rest of the day.

this past week, i visited the dry bar.
somedays i wake up, and think, my hair is driving me nuts!!
and its nice to have someone wash, dry and style it for me:)


this past weekend we scouted out fentons, took stalker photos, and were able to celebrate the engagement of DB's brother and his was-girlfriend-now-fiance; and we are thrilled for this upcoming wedding; and i will have a new sister-in-law...all good and very exciting things!


this past weekend, DB and I went on a date...like out to dinner and drinks kind of date....lovely!
he wanted to try out a Belgium beer bar, which he said was awesome
and then we went to one of our favorite italian restaurants, which was delicious; but also simply fantastic to sit across the table from each other and have someone else cook, and clean, and have someone deliver food to me and refill my water glass:: it was nice..very nice.

(i get fancy lemonade when we go out to such places now)

looking forward: its thanksgiving week! 
so much to be thankful so, and so much to truly appreciate; as we are incredibly blessed wish so many things, family, friends, jobs, a place to live, transportation, health, life...and thats are just a few.

happy its time to reflect-and-be-thank-ful-week! 

(this is from my drive home one afternoon...aren't the clouds awesome?)

november paretnal visit

(warning: there are a lot of photos in this one)

we like it when the parents come to visit.
the last time there were here was in JUNE...which was far too long ago.

they are incredibly easy to please and fun to be with, they love it when we make the plans and they get to go along for the ride
so in our typical fashion: DB makes plans and leads the way.
so first up, coffee in half moon bay


 and then a drive south to pescadero to walk along some beaches.
grandma as a sport, im sure she'd rather be inside/warm reading a book; but she came out to venture with us:)




jill brought her littles

dad did his routine scouting for shells and sand dollars; but we weren't at the right beach for either of those

 




we ended the day with wine tasting, followed up with DB hosting sunday night dinner:)
a glorious, busy, fantastic weekend.



 happy day to you all!

27 weeks & a book shower

last friday I completed my 27th week of pregnancy!
which means, by some calculations; I have entered into my 3rd trimester!
(tomorrow, it'll be 28...so i am a little behind!)


feeling bigger and more restricted when it comes to movement, speed at work and ability to pick things up and put them away (like cases of water, cups and soy...)
if i push myself too hard at work, at the end of the day, i limp/walk to my car, with throbbing back pain
so i am trying to limit my speedy movement/lifting as to save my aching back.
but it is so hard; as i now have to ask my people even more to help me and to do things.
i think they understand....

this past weekend sarah and jill hosted our very first baby shower!
and it was awesome.
i didn't get a group shot, or a picture of all the decor and dessert table; but imagine: AMAZING,
and thats what it was.

a bunch of family and friends were in attendance; and the gift theme was childrens books.
i loved the co ed component of the celebration; as DB is very much apart of this entire endeavor.
i enjoyed celebrating with him, our friends and our families collectively.

as a result of our first baby shower...our little Pip has his own little library, and i love it!

26 weeks

this past friday, we celebrated 26 weeks weeks of pregnancy
i went to get a much needed, long over due hair cut
my stylist asked if she could straighten my hair.
i said yes, as i never straighten my hair (time, effort, energy, and i don't know how!)
it took 2 people with 2 blowdriers and 2 flatirons to make it look like this

pretty fun and completely different.
i think i'll hit up the dry bar on fillmore where my customer lily said she would straighen my hair whenever i'd like
i just need to carve out the time to do so:)


the photo on left, before haircut; photo on right, after haircut.
but more noteably; i have been back to the gym twice this week!
and its feels incredibly good...so good!

if i stand facing the mirror directly, the size/roundess is hard to notice/differentiate.
but if i turn, thats when its truly noticeable that Pip is getting bigger
the little guy, weighs almost 3 pounds and approximately 12-15 inches long!
so crazy!!
i can definitely feel him moving more as he gets bigger; as i was sitting in church the other day i noticed my shirt moving...which was him kicking/stretching/whatever he does in there.
its a trip!
but a good one.  he is healthy and active, alive and well; all good things.

to do: get a crib, dresser and provide him with a warm and welcoming room to live in.
still yet to be accomplished.  (DB needs to move his library/book cases elsewhere before Pip gets a bedroom)
mom---come visit and help me (we'll see if she reads this!)

what will life look like in one year?

approximately, one year from now, Little Pip will be roughly 9 months old.
i'll detail my day below, mostly for myself, so that in one year from now, i can look back and contrast differences; as i am sure life will look a little different with a kid than it does currently.
because, honestly, i don't know where a kid fits into this type of schedule

yesterday
8am: wake up, coffee, breakfast
9am: assemble holiday cookies for meeting, talk to mom on the phone
11am: church
1245-2pm: we went to the gym
230-4pm: showers, snacks and finalizing holiday meeting prep
415pm: pack up my work stuff, and drive to the city
5pm: dinner in the city with family
7pm: dessert at smitten  (the best ice cream ever)
745pm:  arrive at my store
9pm-1045pm: host holiday meeting for my store
1120pm: home, pull out clothes to wear tomorrow, shower and change
1140pm:  in bed (DB already asleep, try not to wake him up)

today:
343am:  alarm #1 goes off
345am: alarm #2 goes off
(DB still sleeping, try not to wake him up)
405am: in my car, on my way to work
420am: found a parking spot less than one block from store!  
430am: clock in, begin work
5am:  store opens
915am: lunch and half caf americano with cold soy break
945am: respond to emails, create list to accomplish for the day
10-12pm: meeting with my new assistant
1230-105pm: lead tasting for conference call, send in recap from conference call
115pm: deliver corrective action, answer/call back 3 of my peers
 2pm: schedule interviews for wednesday, asm check in's for tuesday, peer advice meeting for thursday
250pm: discouraged, my to do list is incomplete
3pm: arrive at peer's store to conduct interviews for district
430pm: arrive at my car, just as I am getting a parking ticket (don't tell DB)
515pm: arrive at home, shower, dinner (thank goodness for food in the fridge)
607pm:  make this list.
thank goodness for text messaging, as i don't know how and when i would communicate with my husband otherwise.

thats my current "day in the life"

i do wonder what life will look like in 3 months, in 6 months and in 9 months; as i truly can't really fathom how we are going to balance 2 careers with non traditional schedules, little Pip and continuing to live the life we love.

ps:  look what DB bought

yes, we are smitten already for our little guy. 

25 weeks

more than half way done at this point

total weight gain: 11 pounds
(i think thats because we were on vacation eating ice cream and cookies after dinner everyday
 and i haven't been to the gym in over 3 weeks!)
officially looking and feeling pregnant
getting in/out of bed, i feel like a whale washing up to shore amongst the waves, rolling till i get myself to the edge
our couch is the most uncomfortable place to sit, its too deep, too high, very challenging to get situated and into a comfortable position
i do like to sit in a normal chair or on the floor instead

i was sharing with a friend that i only have 15 weeks left, and then we get to meet out little Pip
she said, "oh thats when i started the count down when i was pregnant"
and i thought...OMW, i am not ready for a count down...no where close am i ready,
15 weeks still feels like a long ways away
i have so much to do between now and then
i can't even fathom thinking of being ready for a countdown

the belly band and cocoa butter are both my best friends at this point.
i wear the belly band everyday...and love that it keeps my stomach feeling secure,
as it helps my skin feel held together and protected
the cocoa butter helps with the itchiness and the incredible tightness that has a slight painful/uncomfortable component to it. 
the discomfort is definitely worse at the end of the day than in the morning.

it is quite bizarre to be on the back half of this pregnancy already, it truly has FLOWN by.
and i know it will continue to  fly by as we are so incredibly busy going into this holiday season.
i think i'll start  my countdown 30 days or 4 days prior to my due date...tbd at this point.

on another note: here we are when the Giants won the World Series last week

we were amongst friends at a friends house and every time there was a play, home run, etc...
everyone would errupt in cheering and clapping; and then Pip would start kicking like crazy!
he was very much aware of all the noise and commotion going on around him.

he does move lots more; more so i can feel him more as he is getting bigger (gaining 6-8 ounces a week!)
it feels a lot like i have a churning in my stomach; one similar to the feeling when you know you're going to throw up and you can feel a lot of movement in your stomach before you hurl...
well it feels like that, without needing to run to the sink.
it more constant movement, and predominately more on one side than the other; so that must be his feet, right?
again, i am new to this, so its all a guess at this point.