Bébé shower

Last weekend, our friends threw us an adorable couples shower complete with homemade croissants and pain au chocolat, quiche, cupcakes and fresh-squeezed lemonade with a spattering of fresh, blooming flowers and vintage dishes. While baby photos of mini Gui and a petite me flashed across the TV, we caught up with some of our besties and fawned over the newest baby on the block.

We played a round of fun games that involved men drinking beer from bottles and coming up with the most words using the letters from baby’s name.

They even had M&Ms personalized with the name we’ve chosen to call our baby girl: Avienne.

Such good times. Such good friends.

27 weeks and counting

This week starts my third trimester, folks!  The bump is rounding out and I'm surprised to be feeling pretty darn good going into the final stretch.  Time has been flying by, and honestly, I hope that doesn't change.  I can't wait to meet and hold and sing to my little girl.  Her little kicks and nudges - as shocking as they sometimes are - still make me smile with wonder and amazement. 

So, here's what I've been up to as we start off this 7th month:

Reading - Bringing Up Bébé and loving it.  I see a lot of similarities in her experiences with French families compared to my own experiences.  Although it's more of a leisurely read for me than an educational one, I find myself learing interesting things about how Gui was raised and how he actually views parenthood.  It surprises me how some of the same ideals are still in play now as when he was growing up in France.

Creating - I finished up my first knit baby dress last week, so right now I'm focusing on the baby blanket I've had set aside.  Pretty soon, I'll have more time on my hands to work on a few sewing projects I've been queueing up, too.

Craving - I kind of can't get enough ice cream, frozen yogurt and chocolate these days.  I could eat it all day, which I know is probably not a good idea.  So, I've been making a yogurt fruit smoothie in the morning and allowing myself some ice cream for my after-dinner dessert.  Topping my list of favorite flavors - Blue Bell dutch chocolate, and plain, old tangy froyo.  Miam.

Coping with – the pelvic pain that’s hit me recently. I know it’s pretty common to feel the bones shifting “down there” as my body makes way for a baby to pass through, but the discomfort is giving me that signature pregnancy waddle and waking me up at night. I hope it doesn’t last all trimester.

Looking forward to - the weekend! Our friends are throwing us a baby shower on Sunday and I can’t wait to spend time with all of them celebrating the expansion of our circle (and my waistline). Any excuse to hang out with some of my favorite people all at the same time is a good one. Especially when it involves grub and champagne (I may even indulge in a demi-coupe, myself).

Weekend wrap-up

We spent a lot of our weekend staying busy catching up with friends around town.  There was music and dancing, rugby watching, coffee drinking and lots of baby lovin' going on.  Our friends recently had a sweet baby boy, so we've been trying to spend as much time as we can getting some practice for our own impending arrival.  It's almost surreal to think that in just 3 months' time, we'll be doting over our own bite-sized family member, so we're making the most of every learning opportunity we can.

I was really excited that we were able to catch Rachael Yamagata's short set down on 6th Street.  I haven't been out with the crazies in forever, and never with a big belly in tow, so it was quite the experience. Then on Saturday (yay, St. Patrick's Day!), we woke up a bit early to catch the French rugby game at an Irish pub - I couldn't believe how many people were out and already three sheets to the wind at 9:30 AM!  Gui enjoyed a nice Irish coffee and we both grubbed on an Irish breakfast while cheering on France amongst the heaps of Welsh fans we encountered.  Too bad France lost. 

I definitely can't party like I used to, but I still had so much fun getting out and hanging with friends and Gui.  I have a feeling I'll be more and more reluctant to bounce around so much in the coming weeks, so I'm taking advantage of my energy (and mobility) while I still can!

 

Wishy-washy weekend plans

There is so much going on in Austin this weekend, it’s unreal. My favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day is Saturday, but I guess I’ll have to put my traditional green beer for breakfast on hold this year. We may still step out to Fado Irish Pub’s celebration that starts Saturday morning, though; hopefully the crowd won't be so rowdy that early in the day (but I wouldn't bet on it).

There's, of course, SXSW going on all over our neighborhood, so perhaps we’ll stumble into a few shows.  One of my favorites, Rachael Yamagata is playing a free show at a bar down the road tonight, and I'd love to check her out.  I've always managed to miss her when she passes through Austin, but I did catch one of her shows in Paris with a friend back in 2009.  She's pretty amazing.

Or perhaps we’ll avoid downtown like the plague and head for the suburbs. We can actually hear some bands from our bedroom, so maybe we’ll just camp out at home if the weather’s bad and listen in our pajamas. I'd really like to take Gui to the rodeo for the first time, but I doubt I can convince him of the entertainment value in watching mutton bustin'.  (Although I think he could be swayed with the promise of a BBQ cook-off.)

What's everyone else doing? 

Pieces of the weekend

 We had such beautiful weather again this weekend that it was impossible to stay inside for too long.   We spent all weekend walking around our neighborhood, meeting up with friends and lunching and brunching en terrasse.  It's so nice to sit leisurely in the sun all day after a week of working in an office.  It's even nicer when we have nothing pressing to get done and we can spend our time doing what we like (which always includes eating good food).  And that's just what we did.  I hope you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours...

 

 

25 weeks

At 25 weeks, I'm nearing the end of my second trimester and my belly is finally getting the awkward attention it deserves...weird belly button and all.  It baffles me that I've been pregnant for nearly half a year now!  I've been lucky enough to avoid any major pregnancy ailments;  I've gotten a few leg cramps (but learned how to avoid them) and suffered a bout of really bad sinus congestion over the last couple of weeks, but feeling much more human these days.  So far, the most disruptive thing about pregnancy has been the emotional roller coaster I've been riding over the past month or so.  I've heard it gets worse for some people postpartum, but geesh, I don't know if I can even produce enough tears to last me through the rest of my pregnancy, much less afterwards!

Here are a couple of belly shots from this past week.  Bon week-end, everyone!