Monaloca

Despite my growing discomfort with my large, off-balance belly, I am cherishing these final weeks.

It’s absolutely awe-inspiring to think of the little life inside of me, how much she has already grown since conception, and what a a special time we’re both experiencing right now.

She’s more of a constant presence than ever, with her seemingly incessant hiccups, her stretches and jabs into my right ribcage, her butt (we think it’s her butt) poking up to the left to completely distort my belly.

We also receive constant congrats, smiles, and just plain kindness from strangers on the street.

Sometimes I forget how obviously pregnant I am (though less and less as each day passes and my belly grows), and for a split second wonder why these people are so nice. It’s reassuring to realize that such humanity still exists, even in a large urban area.

Many thanks to Cassandra for the fabulous belly and family photos!

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Our due date is May 27. Wow, one month. We’re getting so close! I figure Baby will join us in the world anytime between two and six weeks from now. As a friend commented the other day, we’ll probably never be “ready” but we’re at least close to being prepared. Just a couple more days at work and a few runs to Babies r Us, Rockridge Kids, and Target.

The kindness of our friends and family displayed itself last Saturay, with our “bring the whole family!” baby shower that Stacie and German hosted. Thank you to all for the fun time and cute and practical gifts. Finally, congrats to Jennie (pictured above with me) and Dave on the birth of little Raycer (the Vanderbaby) on Tuesday!

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A friend recently responded to life’s endless complications by saying she wished she could just run a fish taco shack somewhere on an island. Sounds pretty blissful, doesn’t it? Her comment reminded my of an ex pat I met in Belize five or so years ago. This guy packed up his whole Pacific Northwest life and moved down to Ambergris Caye to open a pizza shack in a bamboo-covered trailer. He even invested in a tiny golf cart (the only mode of transport on the island) for deliveries.

For kicks, on my return to Cali I wrote a story about Dave and had it posted on the online travel forum BootsnAll: PepperOni, Island Style

The story is now five years old and not exactly a sample of my best writing, but it’s a fun little blast from the past for me. Enjoy!

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It’s hard to believe a year has flown by since Joey and I were married. Of course, it also feels like we’ve been together for a lifetime. We had planned to spend our anniversary day hiking in Marin and strolling through Sausalito, but the weather isn’t cooperating. Last year our wedding day welcomed one of the first dry, sunny spots amidst six straight weeks of rain. Yay! This year April 14th brings grey skies and rain amidst a huge dry spell. Haha. Oh wait – looks like the sun is peeking out and we’re in for a nice day trip after all.

In honor of our one year anniversary, I’m finally posting a bunch of our wedding photos to this site. Yippee! Note there are four pages, and you can click the thumbnails to see larger versions (standard these days, right?). Our photographer was the amazing Sharon Dawson of Dawson Studios.

Our friend Cassandra also tested out her new camera at our wedding, and has since started her own Mendocino-based wedding photography business. Best of luck to Cassandra during her first full wedding season. And check out the pic – I’m the face of her business card!

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We had our first of two showers this past weekend, at a family friend’s home in San Jose. It was loads of fun, and the explosion of baby clothes and gear in our living room attests to wee one’s imminent arrival!

Kai has also had a couple big weekends in a row. We celebrated his birthday on March 25, then he was showered with more bday and “big brother” gifts the day of the shower. Grandpa Gary and (great) Uncle Ray delivered his big brother bed (ie, twin-sized to replace the space-hogging full) and he later helped Daddy put together the crib. And yes, he truly did help.

Photos are of my 7-month belly, Kai’s bday party, and a trip to the park in San Jose.

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