1 week

My baby is a week old as of yesterday.

As much as I want her to put on some chubs... I also just want her to stay this little forever.

Abbie and Jake also gave Hazel a cute cousin today.

Baby Mary was born this morning.

Hazel and Mary are only 8 days apart.

I think they'll be best friends.

Hazel Fay Jones

Hazel finally made her worldly debut on Wednesday.

We are pretty much smitten by her.

She's 7lbs 4oz of squishy cuddly goodness

She loves to be held which is totally fine by me and everyone that comes to visit.

I think my mom has held her at least once a day.

Briley is a close second.

Ben can't pick her up without telling her how cute she is. 

Hazel's nurse fashioned her this beanie with a bow.

I had awesome nurses for labor and delivery which was nice since I had a long stay.

I'll have to tell the delivery story next.

We love you Hazel Fay.

We're glad you're finally here.

Dear baby,

Today is your due date. 

I've been looking forward to this exact date for many months now.

I'm feeling like you're getting pretty comfortable right where you are though.

I would really like to meet you very soon.

There's nothing to hold you back anymore.

Nana and Grampa are back from Boston.

Your crib is all set up.

Your new clothes are all washed.

You have plenty of diapers and wipes.

I shaved my legs and clipped my toenails today (that wasn't very easy to do)

The fridge has plenty of food.

My hospital bag is packed and ready.

I think it's time.

Your dad is getting very anxious.

Mable has been asking about you for weeks now.

Won't you come so I can finally see you?

We're ready.

Pre-baby--- Pre-semester

Last weekend Ben and I snuck away to California.

It was glorious.

We decided to go the weekend before, booked a hotel, bought too many snacks, and drove off.

It was a short but sweet trip.

We figured it would be our last trip alone before the baby comes in October.

And Ben starts a new semester of school in a few weeks.

We got there Friday evening and played all day Saturday.

We rode a ferry to Balboa Island where we ate lunch

Then we talked as we watched the pretty boats in the harbor

Then we went back to Newport beach and played

Ben convinced me to come into the cold cold water with the huge waves

and I got pummeled.

So we went back and laid on our towels to dry off in the sun.

I dug a hole under my part of the towel so I could lay on my stomach.

It felt so good.

We  took our time coming home the next day by driving down the coast and going through San Diego.

We made a few stops along the way.

The first was to a scenic spot where I fed the fat squirrels out of my hand.

Ben wanted to get closer to the water by the cliff so he made his own way down there.

Then he got scared by a large snake that didn't like him very much

So he came back

When we got back in the car we saw the sign that said this

oops.

Then we stopped in Carlsbad for some yummy danishes

And drove past the San Diego temple. 

It was Sunday so the temple grounds were closed

And made it home just barely in time for Sunday dinner.

The whole trip was short but so very very worth it.

We had a lot of fun.

Got a little sun burned.

And then came back home to reality.

Reality is not as fun as California.

Sneak Peek

Here is a little sneak peek at what the nursery is going to look like for baby girl Jones.

(oh ya, I painted that)

The room is not entirely finished but it won't be too long now.

Just a few minor details left.

Things I didn't know...

About being pregnant...

and some I kind of knew

1.    Leg cramps.

What the heck is that about? 

A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain in my calf. The muscle was so tight and I wasn't even flexing. It hurt SO bad

2.    Heart burn.

Ok, I kind of knew about this one but I didn't even know what heart burn was until I got pregnant. It's a good things Tums taste like giant Smarties.

3.    Everyone LOVES giving pregnancy advice

I guess I should have known this one. People give you advice on what worked for them like all pregnancies are the same... Advice turns into stories about their own pregnancy... Stories turn into two people trying to one-up each other with their worst pregnancy stories... Then within a few minutes you're not even part of the conversation anymore, but you still feel like you have to stand there and listen cause you started the whole conversation just by being pregnant.

4.    People don't look you in the face anymore.

Most conversations I have now are 10% eye contact and 90% eye to belly contact. Its like they want to see if I've gotten any bigger within the time period of our conversation... or maybe they just want to make sure the bump is still there. I'm not really sure.

5.    Touch first... ask second

I've noticed a lot lately that people will touch my belly AND THEN ask if its ok that they touch it. I really don't mind much, just seems a little backwards.

6.    "You're getting so big!"

For most people, this phrase is thought to be a compliment to a pregnant person. What do I say to that? Thank you? I've also heard, "You look so pregnant today." Or, "Wow, you really grew over the weekend."

What is the proper response to things like that? Saying that you've gained weight to any other person would not be a compliment but with the right tone of voice, saying it to a pregnant person suddenly becomes alright. And really, I don't mind it when people say things like that. I've even had one girl at work tell me that she was glad that I finally didn't look like I just had a beer belly anymore... again, it was a compliment... I think.

And now for your viewing pleasure...

Here's a picture of me in the classic "I'm pregnant" pose

I'm 26 weeks along.

That's almost 6 months.

And I'm almost in my third trimester

Bitter-sweet

Last night I played my last softball game for a very long time.

I'm 25 weeks  pregnant now (that's 5 1/2 months!).

Lots of people said I was crazy for playing this long and they might have been right.

I just wanted to play for as long as I could since I know it will be a long time until I'll be able to get back into it.

Last night was actually the first time that I didn't care to play very much.

I'm a lot slower now and trying to run fast is a lot harder carrying half of a little person.

Last week I got knocked over by a large cave women from another team and it was really scary... she was a big girl and did not slow down one bit as she bull dozed right through me.

I'm ok... no worries. The baby is still kicking strong.

I fell onto my back and the ogre did not fall on me.

So considering what happened, I guess I was pretty lucky.

Softball. This is not  "good-bye"

It's more of a "see you later"