One Week To Go

At our weekly doctor's appointment this morning, Dr. Miura told us that everything looks great, baby's heartbeat is strong, and I am 1.5 centimeters dilated! Apparently this is normal for 39 weeks pregnant and doesn't mean a whole lot: we could have the baby tonight, on time next week, or a week late. Hmmm....sooner the better, in my opinion! It's getting a lot harder to move around. Matt is always helping me out of bed, off the floor, and even just out of the car. I am very committed in the future to never gain any excessive weight. Dr. Miura keeps enthusiastically telling me how great I'm doing by not gaining too much weight, but I still feel like a tank. I really miss being able to jump right up from a reclining position. Oh, those were the days...

So this week was my first week home alone. I had thought it would be great to just relax around the house and not worry about work, but I found myself so bored! And unmotivated, too. I'm still waiting for the elusive "nesting" instinct that is supposed to have already kicked in. I think it's mostly just me being impatient to meet this little baby that is growing inside of me. I saw a bunch of my 8th graders one afternoon when I picked Matt up from work, and I realized how much I missed them! They are really spunky and always make me laugh. Our little guy is going to have so many 14 year old aunties and uncles to play with him.

Highlights from this week include:

• Going for a walk with Matt yesterday at Kakaako and seeing two whales repeatedly leaping completely out of the water right off shore
• Watching the bids shoot up during the last 10 minutes of an auction for a pair of boots I put on ebay
• Date night at India Cafe (spicy food supposedly can help labor get going - seems to be an old wives tale though)
• Watching "Slumdog Millionaire" and eating pizza and ice cream with Todd and Brandon last night at Todd's
• Going to our doctor's appointment today and hearing that baby's healthy and we're making progress!

We've been going on lots of walks to try to move baby along - these two pictures are from two nights ago at Kakaako.Pineapple is also supposed to help prepare your body for labor. Emma loves it, too!Makapuu outing with the wee chihuahua.I just chilled under a tree and read while Matt hit the shorebreak.We were feeling goofy yesterday afternoon at Sam's Club and tried out these awesome "dueling rods." I won.

Ford Island Bridge 10K Run

Matt ran the Ford Island Bridge 10K yesterday, a really cool race that starts by running over the bridge onto Ford Island, running the perimeter of the island past the World War II historic sites like the Battleship Missouri, then back over the bridge for the finish.

Matt had an amazing race, finishing in 4th place overall and 1st place in his age group out of more than 2100 total runners. He finished with a time of 33 minutes, 22.9 seconds - that's almost a minute faster than the 10K he ran a month ago (34:18 under slightly tougher conditions). I'm so proud of his running achievements! He even beat the guy who won the Great Aloha Run this year (he came in 7th in this race).

Matt's been working hard and it's really paying off. We have our eyes set on the goal of a solid Chicago Marathon time this October. Matt already has a training plan laid out with this goal in mind. We'll have to see how much baby will cooperate with the plan. :o)

The starting line.

The back of the pack heads over the Ford Island Bridge.
Matt pulling out a strong finish. Matt and his proud wife (and our little kickboxer) after the race.

Two Weeks to Go!

So with two weeks to go until our due date, Matt and I are finishing up our relaxing Spring Break. Matt returns to work on Monday, and I feel like I should be returning to work on Monday, even though I'm done. Weird...I don't think it will sink in that I'm not working anymore until I see him leave on Monday morning. If I'm awake, that is. :o)

We've been spending a lot of time during the second week of spring break at the beach. Makapuu, Kailua, Point Panic, it's been gorgeous. Matt has been jumping in the water catching lots of great waves while I sit on the shore...just watching. I'm SO ready to give birth to this baby so that I can get back in the waves! Usually I take Emma along and I read a book and relax, which has actually been very pleasant. I know I will miss these quiet moments of "Lesley Time" once baby makes his debut. I just miss the magical feel of the ocean picking me up and taking me for a sweet ride.

This morning we went down to Point Panic -

Matt was the only bodysurfer there! Close up of Matt bodysurfing.
Matt with his kayak at Kailua Beach Park yesterday.

Emma is absolutely terrified of water,

but we enjoyed letting her try out Matt's kayak!

Matt's ideal March Madness viewing position - two different live streaming basketball games up on our computers at the same time, while flipping through a hiking book. This is the life!

Another Ultrasound

At our 37 week appointment last Saturday, our doctor said my belly was measuring at only 34 weeks. She said there was a slight concern that the baby is small - he might not have enough amniotic fluid. She ordered an ultrasound for this week to make sure everything was okay. She mentioned that if there was not enough amniotic fluid, it may be necessary to induce labor early. Since Matt and I can't wait to meet our son, we were actually excited at the prospect of meeting him early (as long as he was healthy), but either was looking forward to seeing him again on ultrasound.

We went in for the ultrasound on Tuesday and we are happy to report that baby is 100% healthy and there is no cause for concern. He is measuring a little small, but within a normal range. The ultrasound doctor made all sorts of measurements and concluded that the baby was approximately 6 pounds 3 ounces and measuring in the 27th percentile for his gestational age. Not bad. And plenty of amniotic fluid.

It was wonderful to be able to catch another glimpse of him. And yes, it is definitely a "him" - we confirmed that as well. The doctor took several ultrasound photos for us, but none of them turned out to be very clear except for the "him" confirmation. :o) It is pretty cramped in there by now. At one point, he put the wand on just the perfect spot to get a great glimpse of the baby's face - we got to see our son's face and he doesn't look like an alien anymore! Unfortunately, he didn't capture that moment on film. I suppose we'll meet him in person soon enough.

I'm not sure if this is a body profile?

It's definitely a boy! He seems content to make that obvious. :o)

The Big Baby Shower

This weekend, Donna threw a wonderful baby shower for me (and baby of course)! We had wonderful food, games, friends and wait till you see the safari-themed cake Aunty Lyn made. Thanks so much to everyone who was able to make it (30 people!) as well as for the gifts that were sent from the people who weren't able to attend. We received adorable outfits, toys, books, a breast pump, baby thermometer, a swim diaper, blankets, among other useful or just plain cute baby items!

When Donna asked a few weeks ago what we still needed, we told her that we would really like to purchase a good jogging stroller. Many of the guests generously contributed to the stroller fund, and now we have an awesome top-of-the-line yellow BOB Ironman stroller. Matt has big plans to win a road race while pushing our kid in this stroller against other guys who are just running. We took it for a test stroll around Magic Island yesterday and we loved the way it handled. In addition, we used the money left over to purchase a new digital SLR camera to take pictures of baby. We are really excited to start practicing! Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to make the baby shower so special. We love you!Donna and Matt's mom put together a delicious menu of tasty treats.

Opening a gift from my sister Carla sent all the way from Washington DC!

Aunty Lyn's incredible safari-themed carrot cake...

yes, the hippo is swimming in a blue jello pool!
Proudly presenting our new jogging stroller! Thanks again!

Three Weeks To Go...

With only three weeks until our due date (April 17), we are eagerly anticipating baby's imminent arrival! The hospital bags are packed, we completed our childbirth classes, and we have accumulated loads of size 1 diapers. All that's left is to wait patiently, trying to enjoy our last few weeks of freedom while being so excited about meeting this new little person that is half me and half Matt. Amazing!

Many thanks are in order today: First of all to Sara and Tippy who were willing to wake up at the crack of dawn two days ago to take these "official" pregnancy photos of us on Lanikai Beach, followed by an amazing waffle breakfast. YUM! Thanks to Tippy's dad for letting us use his sweet Nikon DSLR. Thanks again to Desiree for loaning me such cute maternity clothes that I wear every day. And finally, thanks to Matt for cooperating with my little photo shoot idea without complaint, and looking hot while doing it!

Spring Break...So Far

Spring Break is officially here! Matt and I have been enjoying this time to relax and get loads of things done that had been piling up for ages. For example, Matt spent yesterday working on finishing the wall around our bathroom mirror. When we moved in a year and a half ago, we removed a crusty 1970's metal cabinet from the wall, and the wall had been brown drywall since. It's been so nice to find the time to complete the project. Matt did a great job and it looks SO much better!

We've been spending time reading, writing thank-you notes, hanging out at Borders, chilling with friends, attending infant care and childbirth classes, watching March Madness basketball, cleaning our little condo, and preparing for baby's arrival. Here are a few pictures so far...

Matt and I at the Honolulu Festival with a weird little creature. Brett, Sara and I had a girls' picnic at Kakaako.Victoria, Renee, Sonia and I got together for breakfast at Cinnamon's.

Emma trying on a onesie.

Enough of this already, Dad!

Brian, Adam, Alan, Jeremy, Jimmy and Matt at Jer's surprise 28th birthday party.

Goodbye Luncheon

Yesterday was my last day at work at HBA for the foreseeable future! And with less than four weeks until baby is due, I'm really grateful that I'll be able to get more rest. At our doctor's appointment on Thursday, the doctor recommended that it was time for me to stop working, since I was spending too much time on my feet. Friday was scheduled to be my last day anyways, so the timing worked out perfectly. Matt and I were really blessed on Friday by the middle school teachers preparing a special goodbye aloha luncheon for us.


The most meaningful part of the lunch was that Mr. Hom wrote and sang a wonderful song for Matt and I to the tune of "Oh Mandy." Mr. and Mrs. Hom have known Matt since he was in high school, as Mr. Hom was the athletic director at the time and their daughter graduated in the same class. Mrs. Hom teaches English on the high school campus, and I have had the priviledge of working on with Mr. Hom, who teaches 7th grade science, on the middle school team this year. They are a really neat family, and a fixture at HBA. Check out the video and lyrics below:

Lyrics:

Lesley came to HBA, teaching high school math each day,
Had enough of that, the middle school's where it's at,
Her tummy's getting fat, and here's the reason...

You are Matthew Stevens' wife, loving you completes his life,
He would run around, mile after mile,
Couldn't settle down, 'till he saw your smile

Oh Lesley, God bless you, you're gonna be mommy,
And Matt will be daddy,
Oh Lesley, you're leaving to raise up a family,
And baby makes three, Oh Lesley

Lesley and Obama we know, both attended Punahou,
But her heart is with the crew, of our middle school
Jesus is the glue, that keeps us together

Surprise Baby Shower

About a month ago, the HBA 8th Grade National Junior Honor Society members threw a surprise baby shower for Matt and I during lunch. (It took a little while to get the pictures.) The shower was amazing - complete with food, decorations, baby games, lovely gifts and even a diaper cake! I was so amazed that these students had put so much time and energy into making this little party so special. Here's a picture of me on my "throne" with the entire NJHS gang.Mr. Witsell and Mrs. Edwards dig into the ono grinds.
This game was hilarious. Matt came over from teaching at the high school to participate. We were each given a baby bottle filled with guava juice. The first one of us to drink the entire bottle won. Infants must have incredible sucking power, because neither of us could get anything out. In frustration, Matt ripped the entire nipple out of the bottle and drank the juice down out of the remaining cup. He then claimed victory despite blatant cheating! Unbelievable!
This is what happens when 8th graders are in charge of taking down decorations!

Johnny Faerber Men's 10K Run

Matt made Baby-to-Be and I proud in a 10K road race he completed this morning. It started and ended at Kapiolani Park, and went around Diamond Head to Kahala Mall and back. He won third place overall with a time of 34:18. Did I mention that the course was wet and they ran the entire thing in the dark? Amazing. He was beaten only by his two good friends, Todd and Brandon, seen below. Everyone else in the race was way behind these three speedsters. Todd and Brandon came over to our apartment afterwards for a hot breakfast and I was tempted to put a little something extra in their eggs, but I refrained so that Matt would still have some serious running competition on this island. :o)