Mother’s Day and Vacation

We went to the Denver Zoo for a Mother’s Day brunch this year. We had breakfast and then walked around the zoo for a while. We were early enough to actually see the lions being active--usually they’re asleep by the time we get there. It was neat--and we picked up some great parenting tips from the hyenas.

I was surprised at how many Mother’s Day gifts I got. I got some maternity clothes, a gift card to buy more maternity clothes, and Dean got me a Willow Tree statue of a couple holding a baby. I also got free ice cream from Cold Stone, who was giving out free ice cream to all mothers. It was a good day.

Last week, Dean and I went to our timeshare in Avon, CO for a week. This has been a snowy year, so it was a bit colder up there than it has been in years past. We lost our hiking trail in the snow before very long when we went out on Tuesday. This photo is of where we lost the trail. You can’t see the snow very well here, but you can see a really cool bird who was nice enough to pose for us. He is a dusty grouse. (Well, okay, I guess the bird is hard to see unless you know what you're looking for. But if you click on the photo it will zoom in, and you can see him standing on a fallen tree trunk behind me.) It was nice to get away and just relax for a while. And I got a massage, which really helped with tension.

Almost all of my pants and shorts that close with buttons have ceased fitting me--comfortably, anyway. Elastic and drawstrings are my friends. I got one pair of maternity capris for Mother’s Day, and I’ll probably have to go out soon and use my gift card so I’ll have more shorts and capris to wear, now that we’re getting into the warm months. I’ll also hit garage sales and thrift stores. And maybe see if Dean’s shorts will fit me. J

My next doctor’s visit is on June 2, and then we’ll have the ultrasound on June 23. I guess that’s all the news for now. Stay tuned!

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The first of these photos was taken on April 6, and the second on April 27. As you can see, I'm getting a little bigger. We took a few photos earlier than this, but they're not as good since we took them in the evening (when my stomach was full and I was often feeling bloated.) In April, we realized we needed to take them in the morning for a more accurate picture. I haven't gained much weight yet, just a few pounds.

I've continued to be tired. I've been having a lot of trouble with pain and aches in my neck and shoulders lately, which has been wearing me out, too. I'll start to feel better one day, and the next day it gets worse again. I'm getting really sick of that pattern, but I'm not sure what else to do about it.

The car seat company, after many volleys of emails, sent me a manual for the car seat we got for free, and it looks like we're in business to use it--although she said the federal government says car seats should not be used once they're more than six years old, so we probably won't hang onto it for future children.