Hand on my heart, hand on my belly

With 16 days to go until my due date I have been making it a priority to get out and do anything and everything that may not come as easily to me in the short weeks ahead.  Running errands, going out to dinner, going to the comedy store in La Jolla, getting my nails done, watching movies (and not falling asleep), girls nights etc.

It is hard to believe that soon Ky and I will not be able to pick up and go the way that we are accustomed to.  Although we are missing our families quite a bit these days, we are beyond grateful for the family of friends that have been a tremendous help and support through this amazing journey.  I've learned a lot in these past 9 months, and to each and every kind gesture, open mind and heart, ear to bend and lend I am speechless with all the generosity we have received and I know the best is yet to come.  The miracle of life brings about happiness in others in a way that I have never seen before, and I thank God for the wonder of pregnancy.

Below is a photo that was taken at girls night; this is by far one of my most favorite moments to date, lots of love for a little person we all have yet to meet!!!

ELLEN

A year supply of Tide laundry detergent???  Can it get any better?  Yup!  Try a 2 year supply of Tide laundry detergent  ;) 
After bidding (and winning) on 2 VIP tickets to the Ellen show and a hotel stay at Ky's annual non-profit fundraiser we had a mini getaway to plan!  On Sunday September 25th Ky and I decided to get outta dodge and celebrate our 2 year anniversary and baby-moon up in LA.  Our adventure began at the fancy boutique hotel Amarano in Burbank, which was located down the street from the Warner Brothers Studios, and of course the Ellen show.  We settled into our mini-suite and headed to dinner at a local Thai restaurant that received rave reviews.  It was very chic and very LA, we were definitely not in Kansas anymore and it was great.  We feasted on some yummy Thai and then hitched a ride with the hotel's car service down to Universal City Walk.  If you haven't been; it is a hodgepodge of shopping and restaurants covered in bright lights and loud music at Universal Studios.  We did lots of walking and window shopping followed by a Cinn-a-bon for dessert to share in our hotel room.
Monday morning we were both comfy and refreshed with one of the best nights sleep we had both had in quite a while.  As of late typical nights for me consist of going to the bathroom every hour in between my attempts to find a comfortable position to sleep in.  3-4 hours of sleep is a small victory, getting ready for Baby Reding indeed :)
After getting ready for the day we found ourselves enjoying a delicious breakfast (my favorite meal) down at Patys diner, where the hotel car service dropped us off after recommending their whole wheat pancakes.  They were out.of.this.world. and I only wish there was a Patys closer to SD.  After our tummy's were full we decided to walk back to the hotel and pack up before heading to the Santa Monica Pier.  This was Ky's first time to Santa Monica, and my 5th time (rough estimate).  Although we didn't have too much time to soak in the sights we managed to make it to the pier and back just in time for check-in at the show.
After waiting for a little over an hour we were escorted into the studio and finally into our seats in the 2nd row. 
Ky was such a trooper during the whole experience at the Ellen show and I couldn't have been happier.  This outing is the farthest thing from what he would choose to do on any given day, and he not only smiled through it all, but admitted to having a good time as well.  The guests on the show were Jennifer Garner (actress and wife of Ben Affleck) Kevin Dillon (actor - Entourage, not to mention one of Ky's favorite shows) and Australian teeny bopper Cody Simpson.  All in all it was entertaining and we laughed alot, not to mention our FREE Tide :)
The drive home wasn't as congested as we anticipated, but the stop in Anaheim to eat Portillo's one last time before Baby Reding arrives was the icing on the cake, and the perfect way to end a perfect weekend for this soon-to-be family of three.