My Friend

I've been debating posting about this subject, but then I thought..."this is why I have a blog, so might as well."

Most (if not all) women have some issue with their body and I'm no exception. I've been guilty of looking in the mirror and cursing my thighs, my tummy, my hips, etc. and just hating the fact that I got stuck with this abnormal body.

(or if you are in my family, what we like to call Abby Normal thanks to Young Frankenstein movie)

I remember during one of my internships while working in Hollywood at a PR firm, all these women would starve themselves, smoke and take loads of diet pills to achieve their size 2 status and then in walks me who is not a size 2. I remember these women appalled that I was eating a salad for lunch and not just content with a cube of cheese and a diet shake. After a few months working there, my self-image suffered even more and I started following suit by not eating and neglecting my body who had done nothing wrong. Thank goodness I had another internship at NBC to offset such a gloomy environment at the PR firm!

Well, I've worked through some issues and have learned to love myself but it wasn't until I became pregnant that I started to respect my body. Even though I can't see my feet anymore (and those said feet are probably swollen) I am so proud of the journey this body has taken me on and how it instinctively protects such a blessing and miracle that is growing. I've changed my thoughts from "ugh, I hate my thighs" to "I'm so proud of what my body is doing, I don't care if there are marks or scars."

So, my little life lesson this week has been to give my body a break, let it do it's thing and realize what an amazing job it has done and will do soon and to cherish it. I loved the quote pictured above (which for the record is not my body...I do not have a tattoo.) and it stated exactly what I have been feeling this week.

Yay for my body! Flaws and all, I'm so proud of it.

Lodi Baby Shower

Oh what a weekend! Fun was had by all! 

I felt like such a lucky girl the weekend of the Lodi Baby Shower. It so good to see family and friends all together and I felt so blessed to have so much support for my new phase in life. 

And who can resist baby stuff? No one...that's who!

So here is how the weekend unfolded...

My aunts, my sister Marci, my second mom Teresa, my mother-in-law Teri and my sister Rach (plus Mike and myself) all congregated at the Anderson House on Thursday. There was loads of laughing, baby belly-touching and hugs flying all around in a glorious chaotic reunion. 

Friday, we had a girls day at the cutest tea house in Sutter Creek called Tea Era. We put on hats or crowns and even some boas and had tea and crumpets, desserts and yummy sandwiches. Completely girly and the perfect way to welcome the newest member of this family with style!

In this photo is myself, Marci with the perfectly matching outfit, my mom, Sandy & Teresa, and finally me with the grandmas to be.

After Tea Era, we headed home to prep for the baby shower and to go head to head in a vicious competition we like to call... CUPCAKE WARS!!

Each team made a delicious batch of cupcakes for the shower the next day, but to make things interesting, we brought in professional judges to choose the best cupcake of them all. The winner would receive bragging rights and a Target Gift Card. 

I know...pretty intense!

Teresa is getting her game face on, Mom is showing her big baking guns, Aunt Patty is helping every team so you can share the prize no matter what (smart girl!), and finally, my beautiful cupcakes...Yeah, it's ok to drool!

After hours of hard work, we presented our cupcakes to our prestigious judges...my dad and Mike. 

Teresa made a yummy carrot cake cupcake with burnt sugar frosting (yum!), I made an Oreo Truffle Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting, my mom made a Gingerbread cupcake with Lemon Frosting (gourmet!), Teri & Rach made a Vanilla cupcake with super yummy Strawberry frosting, and my Aunts Jeanne and Carol made a Triple Chocolate Organic cupcake with Chocolate frosting. (someone was playing to one of our judges who has a chocolate weakness!) And Aunt Patty and Marci helped everyone...sneaky girls.

Safe to say Mike and my Dad were in sugar heaven! But man did they have opposite tastes.

The winner you may ask? Well, since the judges could not decide on one, they chose Teresa's Carrot Cake Perfection cupcake and Aunt Jeanne & Carol's Triple Chocolate Coma Cupcake!

And I have to say, I totally agreed. 

Saturday was the big shower day. Our family friend, Sandy hosted the perfect shower at her house which was completely and utterly elegant. The only thing I can complain about is how puffy I look in the pictures! It's like my body knew I was going to be in every picture, so I felt a little sabotaged!

I couldn't contain my "Awwww" when I opened this perfectly crocheted owl beanie! I wanted one in my size. Me with Sandy, our baby shower cake and the food buffet. 

Safe to say, at any Anderson function, you are going to get a lot of sugar. It's how we roll. 

We had cake, chocolate covered pretzels, lollipops and our assorted cupcakes. I was telling my family we should open up a sweets shop!

It was so fun to catch up with everyone at the shower! I had my Young Women leaders there, Church members that mean the world to me, family and great friends. A girl couldn't ask for a better group. And the gifts were just too precious. Pink was everywhere as well as poofy dresses and cuddly blankets.

Me opening gifts & my mom handling the logistics, a porcelain elephant from my sister Rach & MIL Teri which matches our nursery theme perfectly, my mom admiring the cuddly toys, and the best little sweater HANDMADE by Mama Teresa.

More shower shenanigans...

Sugar shot, my name tag for two, opening gifts, and being silly with my BFF Holly.

Sunday Mike, Rach, Teri and I packed up our Expedition, said goodbye to all our loved ones and headed back to LA. I felt a little sad leaving Northern California and all the people who have supported me throughout the different phases of my life, but I just felt so special to have these amazing examples and friends!

And boy did my Northern California peeps spoil my Cookie! She is going to be so stylish when she arrives.

A big thank you to everyone that made that weekend special! Big Hugs.

xoxo

Curious

With 10 weeks left until we meet our little Cookie, we can't help but wonder what she is going to look like.

After looking at Mike's and my baby pictures, I think it is safe to say she will have some chubba-wubba cheeks... and some awesome style!

I think it's pretty safe to say she is going to be adorable!

Bliss for the Senses

A weird side effect happens when you are pregnant...

you get the power of Super Smell!

Why this is, I have no clue. I'd rather have super strength or the ability to fly. But for whatever reason, pregnant ladies get this special power and it sucks! Everyone's perfume or lotion smells 10 times more potent and sometimes just plain awful!

So, you can imagine how happy I was when I found a lotion that I just loved to smell. My late aunt D.G gave me this amazing lotion for a wedding gift that was Eucalyptus Spearmint from Bath & Body Works. Ever since then, I've always bought the same lotion since I was obsessed with the smell and I was elated that my new-found pregnancy powers agreed with my obsession as well.
(It's the little things that count)

Yesterday I ran out of my beloved lotion and went to Bath & Body Works, just to find a whole section of Aromatherapy lotions. It was a blissful moment on my senses.
Like a cheap day at the spa!

Here are the scents I picked up and my senses are just tickled pink to have something so yummy to smell all the time.

Orange Ginger Lotion:Good ol', Tried and True, Eucalyptus Spearmint Soap:

Last but not least, Lavender Chamomile Body Wash

Well done Bath & Body Works...well done indeed!

So Long 2nd Trimester...

I was browsing through pictures on my phone and realized I should post them on my blog for those of you who haven't already seen these shots on Facebook.

Plus, it's time for more updates.

It's almost time to say goodbye to the wonderful, happy, cute preggo pictures, nausea-free 2nd Trimester and welcome the "holy crap this is coming too soon and I'm going to be a mom" 3rd Trimester.

In last week's appointment with my wonderful Dr. Kim, I voiced that I'm a little nervous about the quickly upcoming birth and couldn't believe how time flew by...
She said she heard that a lot.

On the baby news, our little girl is healthy & growing right on schedule. I'm hoping everything stays that way till it's time for her to come...in June...no earlier than June.
I keep telling her, "Remember, Mama wants to be ready for this too... Early arrivals will stress her out." Hopefully she listens.

In other news, Mike and I had our 4 year anniversary in February and took a weekend vacation to Catalina Island (which is about an hour boat ride from where we are.)

Catalina is one of our favorite little places in the off-season.

We hate the on-season. Too many people.

But, we spent the weekend in this cute hotel and walked around the little town...which seriously is just one main street. The weather was perfect and we ditched our cellphones to just be with each other before our little Cookie arrives. It. Was. Perfect!

Mike insisted we buy this stuffed animal for our girl. It is a mix between a monkey and a duck...or otherwise known as a Dunkey.

...I'm betting this creepy thing gives our girl nightmares, but who knows, maybe she will love it.

Here we are getting on the boat to Catalina. It was our first sunny day in weeks!

After Catalina, I headed up to Northern California without Mike (sad..) to spend time with my parents before I become a parent. (happy!)

The last time they were with me, I was smack-dab in the middle of my 1st Trimester and I was NOT a happy camper. Nausea will do that to a girl. So, I was determined to leave a better memory of myself before the baby...and since the 2nd Trimester has been heaven, it seemed like perfect timing.

It was a quick trip, but we accomplished so much! My mom and I went to Babies R Us to register
(which took 3 hours!)
I never knew there was so much stuff for babies...totally overwhelming.

Then we relaxed with pedicures (hallelujah!) and dove right into Baby Shower planning. We also ordered the cutest baby blessing dress together and her adorable bedding. I can't wait for her to use it! I'll post pictures of both so you can bask in the total cuteness with me!

Then on Saturday, my dad joined the Baby-palooza craziness and we all went over to San Francisco, my favorite town, for some good ol' fashioned fun.
Our San Fran musts consist of the Cliffhouse restaurant for brunch, Miette bakery for macaroons, salted caramels and lavender shortbread cookies, Smitten ice-cream which is beyond good, the Marketplace and then Boudin for some authentic sourdough bread. I had to pick up a loaf for Mike since he was bummed he couldn't be with us. I'm such a good wife! And to finish off the day, we go to Scoma's for dinner and a trip to Ghirardelli for more ice-cream.

We did do other things besides eat, but those things don't matter as much apparently. Haha!

Then, to finish the perfect weekend, I went to church with my parents and saw all the familiar faces that make me feel at home again. It was fun to catch up with everyone and get tons of hugs. Hugs make me happy. :)

Plus, everyone commented on my growing baby bump, which I purposely saved for last.

Here is my bump with my little girl (aka: Cookie, Little Miss, The Kid) ...

...or as we've decided to name her, Charlotte Elaine.

Charlie for short.

Say hello to everyone Charlie...
xoxo

Mom-nesia

I have totally neglected this blog!

Just when I think about writing a post, my "mom-nesia" kicks in and I go on my blissful way, not even thinking that I'm forgetting something!

I've started to feel like the dog from the movie Up! I'll be in a conversation with someone and then all the sudden...

SQUIRREL!!

And then I look back at the person I'm talking to with a blank stare implying... "I love you!"

The worst is when I was teaching my Young Women! Mid-lesson and I'd pause, give them all a blank stare and then they'd tell me where I left off. Bless their little hearts!

But on to the updates... I was just released as Young Womens President and I have to admit I was truly sad to leave. I've been a leader in the YWs for almost 4 years. My little Beehives that I taught are now Laurels and I can't believe how time flies. And let's be honest...Relief Society is just not the same as Young Womens. I went from hearing conversations about boys and seminary and soccer practice to conversations about canning and knitting and grandkids. Safe to say, I feel like a fish out of water...
But then, I realized that I didn't have to organize the upcoming stake dance, the camp certification, camp fundraising, the practice hikes for the girls, the ward activity that was coming, I didn't have to attend BYC, Ward Counsel or any more Wednesday night activities

... and then magically I started to miss Young Womens less and started enjoying some time off.

Don't get me wrong...I still miss my girls, but I'm grateful for the break.
Plus, all those activities mingled with my new found Mom-nesia wasn't going well for me.

Onto Baby updates...
(these are the fun updates!)
We...or should I be more specific and say I...have been feeling our little girl movin' and shakin'.
Mike is always a little sad when he is left out of this fun, but I have to say I'm loving every minute of it. She started kicking late one night and I thought for sure Mike would feel her this time. So I woke him up and told him she was kicking and to place his hand on my tummy.
Poor guy was so tired, he put his hand on my pregnancy pillow that I use to support my back and said, "Cool babe, I feel her!"

Uh-huh, SURE you do...

Another cute story about Mike:
We found out we were pregnant on Halloween day and I showed Mike the pregnancy test when he came home for lunch. We were both still in shock and Mike eventually had to go back to work. He admits he could not focus on anything for the rest of the day, but he opened his internet browser to try and work.

As soon as he opened MSN, he saw in bold letters,
"JESSICA IS PREGNANT!"

His first reaction was, "Who told????"

Later he realized that Jessica Simpson confirmed she was pregnant that day and MSN did not blab our little secret, but his attention span was pretty much shot for the day.

...we had a good laugh!

Overall, we've had a lot of fun so far in this pregnancy. Even when I melt down over really stupid things, Mike hugs me and asks if it is too early to make fun of me.
Which usually makes me laugh!

One last amazing thing about Mike
(which I'm realizing this post is becoming more and more about him than the baby, but what can you do?)
We went to the gym to workout...or more specifically for me to walk and Mike to workout...
I was on a treadmill that was on the second row and on the first row in front of me was about 15 young 21-year-old girls who are not pregnant and sporting their little tiny sports bras and shorts, perfectly tanned and running at a perfect speed all in unison.

This picture makes a 5-month pregnant woman feel awesome!

I guess I had the look of death on my face as I was memorized by this scene in front of me and I didn't realize Mike had moved to the machine next to me.
Next thing I know, Mike is rubbing my back telling me I am the most beautiful woman in the world and those girls had nothing on me.

Safe to say, I gained a little pep in my stride and had a successful workout while feeling pretty.

I'm so happy to have Mike as my support system through all these changes and mood swings. He truly evens me out and gives me the boost I need.

We have about 17 1/2 weeks to go and our due date is definitely creeping up on us.

And here's hoping I'll update this blog again before our little girl arrives!

xoxo

I guess you'd say... What can make me feel this way?

MY GIRL!!

It's official, we are having a girl and we couldn't be more excited.

I'm just so glad we can start calling her "her" and not "it". I was starting to feel like a bad mom...

Here is her first profile picture.

Mike thinks she has my nose, but I just can't get enough of her little baby belly.
Someone is going to get a lot of belly raspberries when she arrives!