ocean baby and friends

the salty water, the cool sea breeze, the ripping of the tide on the shoreline, the squawking gulls, the crunch of shells underneath my feet buried in the sand, the oooh and the ahhh coming from mom at the very yummy taste of tuna steak & salmon, the relaxing pre natal massage and time in the pool swimming at the Ocean Crest Spa just 2 miles down the road and the meeting and greeting of new friends in Pacific Beach & Ocean Crest...all very normal day to day stuff around here for the past week. I feel the baby relaxing and getting into routine with our activities, giving by belly a break from the strong kicks and punches.


Oh and the changes! I must say I have a new found respect for women who give life! And some women do this more than once! Amen to you! Before Pregnancy, I never knew heartburn, no idea what it meant to slow down not even for a second and now I can relax without feeling guilty, had no idea I could shop for size Large or maternity wear and not feel bad about it, could not imagine in 100 years how wonderful it would be to feel the baby moving and kicking around, never ever ever thought my belly would ever get in between me and John(in the way of spooning, that is), and no clue that I would be as picky as I am about what kind of toilet paper we buy! I demand soft and nothing short of the best. And when it comes to eating, when I need to eat, I really need to eat right now. Pickles, and what in the world is it about those little green pickles when you're pregnant? I am eating them now like never before. Yum! Nuts! Crazy!

And when I see little kids with their mom, dad and dog, my heart melts, I have a new appreciation for that picture knowing that soon I will be a lucky mom with a very happy and lucky dad, too. Your head changes and maybe the changes are subtle but they take place each day adding up to something big and special and before too long, all these things that were once so foreign and "out of this world" are now so real and normal and right. I find myself feeling more accepting and ease with calm. I am certain this is only the beginning of a lifetime of total change when it comes to becoming a mother and the way our thinking must shift from the "me or I" factor to the "us" factor. It's exhilarating and I can't wait to be 3! I am looking forward to being a mother and continuing down the path of racing dogs in the Iditarod (returning in 2010), training dogs, writing my book and building our life together as a family. We have so much to share!

My belly itches in the evenings & I'm growing again out of my clothing. I'm hearing more of "so when are you due?---- rather than "the stare" that translates into "is she fat or is she pregnant?" That is nice and refreshing...there's moments I am comfortable in my skin and then there's moments I find myself asking "can we have this baby already?" There's days I can't get comfortable and I certainly don't sleep through the night anymore. Those days are long gone for awhile but I'm used to it now. I'm not used to and don't want to get used to all the extra weight gainand when it's hot, I feel miserable. And when we're out and about I have to make myself steer clear of those naughty foods I crave so much of such as ice cream and chocolate. NAUGHTY!

My ankles swell when I walk too much making me feel like an old fat person. uRGH. and then there's Heartburn, should we even go there? I've never had heartburn before until now and I didn't even know what it was to tell you the truth. I thought something was seriously wrong with me but then to find out it's heartburn after all related to the hormone changes and all I needed to do was take a Zantac...life is good again. Oooohlala.

Our friends Paul and Mim makes a mean breakfast here at their super swank oceanfront B&B and have been wonderful hosts, we'll miss them! Already we're thinking about visiting again next year, this time, with baby, 2 dogs and bikes. I get homesick for the dogs no matter how big the beach, how free the sun and sky make us feel and how much of everything we can do, eat, see, shop, etc. After 8 days, I'm itching for something more. We've made nice friends & connections on our visit here to the area and we hope some of these new friends will visit us in Alaska one day- our little slice of paradise. It's been fun sharing images from the laptop and videos of our AK life with dogs in the mountains, races, building, moose, caribou, fishing and the creation process of a small business on our property in the Maclaren Valley --we're working on growing bigger each year with more authentic rental cabins and summer house for friends and family with studio for writing, yoga, art & massage. I keep hearing how lucky our baby will be, I agree! We work hard and we accomplish!

Tonight, we head to Manzanita on the OR coast. I haven't been there in many years, say like ...9 years! Seems like yesterday! Back when I was 22, a friend and I took a trip from Madison, WI to Portland for a wedding and decided to rent a car for a trip to the OR coast to see what we could see and it was then I found this area to be so beautiful...it's a pretty coast, rocky and interesting terrain with little b&b's and coffee shops scattered about, crab and sea kayaking opportunities too. We're going all the way to Tillamook and then our last day will be spent back in downtown Seattle.

Baby baby baby, 11 weeks to go and we'll get to finally meet our little baby girl.

Zoya