34 Weeks

There are few things in this world I find more beautiful than a pregnant belly. I was recently inspired by a prenatal photography ad, and wanted to capture this special time of my life in an artistic way. So, in the spirit of saving money, I set up a makeshift studio in my house and became my own photographer with the help of a handy thing called the 10-second self timer on my camera. These are my favorites after cropping and editing...

A few weeks ago, my linea nigra appeared. Linea nigra is Latin for "black line" and refers to the pigmented vertical line that runs down a pregnant woman's belly, intersecting the belly button. Mine is not very noticeable, but if you look very closely in the photo below, you can see it -- moreso beneath my belly button than above it. I love it.

I played with the tint on this last one and warmed it up a lot. I like the effect. It's my pregnancy glow. Pregnancy really has been joyful for me. I have helped so many other women through this stage of their lives, and now that it's my turn, I'm not taking any of it for granted.

I love you, Michael! And I love being your mother! I'm so excited for your birthday!

A Little Spoiling Never Hurt Anyone

4 Glenn women + 4 Vietnamese women + 4 bottles of pretty nail polish + 4 massage chairs + 4 foot baths + 8 flimsy flip flops = 40 beautifully pedicured toes! Mama Glenn's treat to prepare for all our hard work of baby shower preparations :)

Here we are decorating sugar cookies. The shower Tuesday night, Dec 29th and was hosted by Autumn and Liz. We had an amazing turnout! Thanks, girls! Michael is going to be one spoiled baby with all the wonderful gifts we got from the shower.

Please notice the cookie I decorated specifically with Kevin in mind: in the center of the closer plate -- a fishing rod with a fish on it!

And here is the very important key piece of Mikey's nursery that I stumbled upon earlier this week. A cherry-colored mini crib that someone was selling on craigslist for a fantastic bargain! Thanks to Vern and Cheryl for giving us the money to buy a crib. This one came with this jungle themed bedding, two mattresses and a changing table pad. Kevin helped me assemble it, and after a good polish, the wood looks almost new! The scratches are hard to see unless you look really closely. I also just had to wash the bedding and get it all made up because it's so stinking cute! It goes perfectly with the stuffed monkey from Kris in Vallejo and the musical giraffe from my mom. :) I have the mattress set up at the highest height right now, but it can be lowered to three other positions as Michael grows. The nursery is still needing some organizing and decorating, so there are no sneak peeks of that yet, but I am getting so excited!

Reunited

My hubby almost squeezed the baby right out of me when he finally got to see me again! We picked him up from the Oakland airport on Christmas Eve day, and boy were we happy to be together again. Can you tell? We met up with everyone in Emeryville that afternoon for lunch and some shopping.

This is everyone the next morning congregating at the top of the stairs getting ready to go down and open presents and check out our stockings. I like Autumn's fake sleepy face and the fact that Kevin has a sweet cowlick.

Here we are after all the gifts had been passed out, and before we started opening them...

No Christmas morning is complete without a fashion show. The three Glenn sisters in matching pajamas... and Autumn in her rain boots. My mom always does a great job making Christmas fun and special for us. We had a really great time in California! Thanks, Mom!

Christmas Time in The City

A few days before Christmas, the family and I took a trip in to the city to get in the Christmas spirit. It only took us 20 or so minutes to find free parking, which is not the easiest thing to do in downtown SF. This was before Kevin joined us, so my dad is my date in this picture.

There are a couple of really big Christmas trees in San Francisco. The kind that would make Buddy the Elf go absolutely nuts. This first one is in Union Square, the one below it is in Neiman Marcus. The ornaments are bigger than our heads!

Sometimes funny things happen in Nike Town. Lebron James wanted to have a contest with me to see who could make the best monkey face. That lady in the background is voting for me, I think.

This was a fun sneak photo I caught of my dad. I think he was blending in well with the wall display, whether he knew it or not. They may not be wearing the same clothing, but they do have the same hairstyle... hehe.