no-joke noggin

How would you feel if your doctor told you that your baby's head measured 37 weeks, but you were only 33 weeks along?
Definitely something to ruminate on....

babymooning in chicago

Ever since we discovered we were going to have a baby, I have been planning on a "babymoon". In my mind's eye, I envisioned us in a tropical paradise lounging by the ocean's edge, sipping virgin daiquiris, basking in the warm sun (big belly and all). While I would have loved this scenario, we went somewhere completely unexpected and totally different from what my 3 month pregnant self imagined...CHICAGO.

Due to time constraints, busy schedules, etc., we didn't know if we were going to be able to pull off a pre-baby getaway, but we did it! Kent had two frees flights on Southwest so we chose a destination about 48 hours before we left. New York was on the list, but that trip gets pricey real quick. We threw a few other cities around, but Chicago won out and I'm so glad.

We spent three days in the famous Windy City and walked more than my out of shape body could handle, but we loved it. Here are some photos from our short-notice adventure.

Architectural boat cruise

This is a must I think. You get to see the city from an entirely different vantage point.

We were pretty cold, but it was worth it.

We heard the stuffed pizza was something else at this pizzeria so we checked it out. They weren't kidding about the "stuffed" part. I never knew I could get sick of cheese, but I think I reached my limit. There was so much of it!

I didn't think I could eat stuffed pizza again, but the night after going to Giordano's we decided to give it another go at Lou Malnati's. Both of us preferred the second place. Lots of cheese, but not as heavy.

We did a little shopping on Michigan Avenue and I of course had to stop in the American Girl doll store. It was amazing. My 12 year old self would have gone crazy. As it was, I was amazed at the things they had there: a doll hospital, a doll salon (pictured above: $20 for doll hair styling) and a cafe where you and your doll can eat together. Little girls were carrying their dolls around going from one spot to the next. It was great, but I think Kent is happy we're having a boy.

Nighttime on the Riverwalk.

We were there for the first weekend of holiday festivities. Big cities are magical during the holidays. Really, they are.

In the lounge at the top of the John Hancock building. It had a pretty fantastic view of the city.

And I really liked these photos of Kent.

He doesn't even try, he just strikes poses like a model.

If you couldn't tell, this is a bathroom. Yes, it is the view from the women's bathroom in the Hancock building. I couldn't resist taking a photo.

The actual building from below.

Our least expensive meal of the trip, but our favorite meal of the trip.

We loved Portillo's!

Unfortunately for Kent, we missed baseball season, but we lucked into a great second: a football game at Wrigley Field. Apparently, a college football game hadn't taken place there since 1938 so it was big deal. Plus, state rivals were playing.

We weren't cold or anything. Okay, that's not true. We were freezing!

The field.

Definitely a fun time, but we'll have to come back in the summer for a warm baseball game.

On our way to the Field Museum. I loved the fall colors.

The Bean.

Up close.

The Belly in the Bean.

Outside the Field Museum. We liked this museum, but I think we'll try the science and industry museum next time. It was just a lot of natural history. My favorite part: watching an old video about Eskimos while sitting down.

Our last night enjoying the decked out streets after eating some delightful beignets at Grand Lux Cafe.

We had a wonderful trip and I'm so glad we were able to make Chicago happen. We loved our hotel, the ambiance and the city. Next time we go, Kent can take his little buddy to a Cubs game and I'll submit to a day in the American Girl store if and when we have some girls.

sneak peak

I got an unexpected view of Baby Sommer yesterday at my doctor's appointment and he is already a cutie. Kent never really knows what is what in the ultrasounds so I thought I'd do a little labeling.

Baby Sommer (still nameless)
30 weeks old

We're not prepared for him to make an entrance quite yet, we need the 2 1/2 months remaining, but we are excited. I hope he looks like Kent. I'd love a little tow-headed baby with blue eyes running around, but I will be happy with anything as long as he is healthy and happy. Who knows what the mix will bring!

fall by phone

It has been awhile since this blog has been updated so it's time for a seasonal review. We haven't been using "real" cameras lately, but we have been documenting a few things via phone.

Here we go.

Let's start with the most exciting event: Kent's Birthday. My young husband turned 30 a few weeks ago and we celebrated at three different events.

#1-Arcade Fire Concert

This kind of doubled as a birthday/late anniversary gift, but Kent loves the band so we counted it more as a birthday celebration. We joined Zach and Mel (who are now engaged...woohoo!) last minute and amazingly ended up sitting right next to them. That really was a miraculous coincidence. We bought our tickets individually on different days from different people, but ended up in the two seats right next to them. Good friends, good seats, great show. Go here for more details.

(I thought this chandelier was amazing)

#2-Dinner at the Blue Bayou

Have you ever wondered what it's like to eat at that restaurant smack dab in the middle of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland? Well, I had, and Kent's parents fulfilled that dream for me through Kent. Kent's mom and dad took us out for Kent's birthday at the one and only Blue Bayou. The ambiance was fantastic and the food was pretty good. We all decided they can charge you more simply because you're eating where you're eating. Thanks for a fun night, Mom and Dad Sommer!


#3-Friends, Food (barely) and Ghostbusters

On Kent's actual birthday, Dave and Danielle and Zach and Mel came to Seal Beach where we ate a rushed dinner at Taco Surf then headed over to the local theater on Main Street to catch Ghostbusters on the big screen. It had been years since I had seen that movie and it was much more funny than I remembered. I was probably 8 or something when I saw it last so I'm sure I didn't get any of the jokes. I don't have any photos from the phone, but here's a little reminder of the night.

(I don't know how, but I completely forgot about the State Puft Marshmallow Man. That was the best part!)

I hope Kent enjoyed the birthday events. He's such a wonderful man and I'm so grateful he's my husband.

We've also been doing a lot of Ragnaring. I know that's not really a verb, but it feels like one. My job with Ragnar has taken us to all sorts of races in Southern California this fall. What do we do on most Saturdays? We grab our Ragnar gear and head out the door early in the morning to different events. We basically work a 6 day work week which is amazingly fine because we get to spend more time with each other.

First race we attended. Not a ton of success, but at least we got out there.

I couldn't do this job without this guy. He's the best.

In action at the Rock'n'Roll LA Marathon Expo. That belly is just getting bigger and bigger.

We're hoping we find some gold at the end of the Ragnar rainbow, but we'll see.

We also saw the Weepies at this little place in San Juan Capistrano called the Coach House. I LOVE that band. Mellow, upbeat, happy. Even their sad songs are happy. One of their songs used to be my cell phone ringback tone. Anyone remember "All This Beauty"? It was on there for a long time...

Not the greatest shot, but here's a great song that you might enjoy.

Also, the lead singers are married have two young children. We saw their baby with a friend/babysitter in a front sling with big headphones on to block out the loud sounds. It was adorable.

Last but not least, this fall has been full of egg consumption.

I read that you should have 2 eggs a day while pregnant so that you know your baby is getting enough protein. Therefore, we've been eating a lot of fried egg sandwiches and egg burritos (pictured above) lately. It's a good thing we like eggs in this household.

More has happened since I started this blog a couple of weeks ago, but this is going to have to due for now. Life is going well. It's busy, busy, but great. Grateful to be where we're at at this point in time.

respite

Things have been busy around here lately, and when I say busy, I mean the kind of busy where I feel like I don't have enough time to get myself dressed and ready for the day (that happens when you work from home) until noon. I just go straight to the computer after Kent leaves and start working. Not a good habit, but one I've picked up. Things should settle down soon. We'll see.

I do have some fall updates coming, but in the meantime, I want to share a song that helps me feel calm in the craziness. I discovered it on a music blog by our good friend Dave. (He has great taste in music. I just put the playlist on and I'm set for a couple of hours.) The song is called Grow Till Tall by Jonsi. Who's Jonsi you might ask? He's the lead singer of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. They're great. Worth looking into.

Without further ado, here is my respite song (it's not really a video, it's just the song, but that's all you need to take you to wherever it takes you. A video might be distracting actually.)

new york seltzer

I don't if it's pregnancy or what, but I have been craving a New York Seltzer so bad lately. Do you remember these guys-fizzy, light and tasty? As a girl, we used to get them at a local subway sandwich place called BK Subs. A turkey avocado sub and New York Seltzer was my usual order, but I don't think they exist anymore.

I did a little research and found that a man named Randy Miller was the owner in the 80s. Apparently, his love for exotic animals and stunts pulled him away from the family business and the drink disappeared in the 90s. BigLots! claims to carry New York Seltzer, but I just don't know that I believe it is the ORIGINAL New York Seltzer. It has to be a knock-off. I need to see (and try) it to believe it.

I wish Mr. Miller would bring back the little glass bottles of goodness. I could really use a New York Seltzer right about now.

a single girl

Kent sends me an email this morning with a link to a video and he writes, "Want to see something that will most likely make you cry?" My thoughts: The man knows me well; I will cry and I don't even know what I'm about to watch.

Did I cry? Of course. I guess crying comes easier these days with the extra hormones pulsing through my body, but I would have cried either way. Commercials make me cry, pregnant or not.

Like Kent warned, this video will most likely make you cry, but it is worth the tears. It's short and powerful.



Are there even words? I don't even know where to begin after watching this. All I know is that I want all girls and women to thrive and feel that they have control of their lives. I've never considered myself a feminist, although I'm sure every woman who is part of our generation would be considered a feminist in the most simplistic form. We believe in the rights of women and the ability to chose our own path. We are able to learn, grow and become healthy, vibrant individuals. Inalienable rights, right? It hasn't always been like that though. Our generation is lucky and should be grateful for the sacrifices strong women have made over the centuries. The problem is that not every woman has the freedom to realize her potential and have the life she desires. That makes my heart sick.

I'm not sure how to help every single woman in the world, but I believe that change can begin with one, single girl. That poem, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, by William Ross Wallace immediately comes to mind. What power a woman and mother holds! She forms and teaches her children, hopefully, filling them with the best things possible, making them feel they can accomplish anything. We need to do that for the girls around us, in our own lives. No need to cut them down, we do that to ourselves enough; we need to build them up in whatever way we can.

As for helping girls and women around the world, I am going to research this matter further to see what I can do. Governments and societal beliefs often obstruct humanitarian efforts, but like this video says, there must be a way, starting with one girl at a time.

Thank you, Kent, for making me cry a little today. It was worth it.

and the Sommer name lives on...

It looks like Kent is going to have a little buddy.

I guess that's not obvious in this shot, but I didn't want to expose the poor little guy on the world wide web. Actually, he probably wouldn't mind; he didn't want to show us much more than that during the ultrasound. Baby Sommer ended up doing a somersault so he was face down, lying on his head. Even when the doctor tried to get a good angle on his face, he covered it with his arms. He was not having anything besides displaying his manhood.

Either way, it was 100% clear that it's a BOY!

Kent's going to have his little soccer player and I'm going to dress him in things like this to show my support.

We're excited to meet little Torres in January.

LA-bor Day Weekend

We didn't go far for Labor Day, but we didn't have to. With LA and family nearby, we managed to have one fantastic weekend.

It all started on Friday afternoon at Rest & Relax Bodyworks where Kent and I got a couple's massage. Oolala. Way back in April, our friend let us know about these 80-minute massages for $37.50 each, so I bought two thinking we would use them after our Ragnar Relay. Well, I sort of forgot about them then randomly remembered them. Turned out the vouchers would have expired on October 1st, so we went to LA for a little R & R.

Side note: Massages are great, really, I'm a total sucker for them, but pregnancy massages aren't as good as the real deal. There's nothing like lying on your stomach so the masseuse can dig out the knots in your back, but I had to lie on my side. Like I said, still great, but not the same.

After that, with my greased down, lavender-scented hair, Kent and I decided to find the Kogi truck in Venice.

Kent printed out the schedule before we left home, so we knew where it was, more or less. At first, we didn't see the actual Kogi truck, but we saw several other food trucks. Apparently, Kogi isn't the only truck driving around LA offering sustenance. Everyone has one! Kent and I need to jump on this business opportunity. Anyway, I thought the food was good, but I don't know that it's worth all the hype. I can't say I'll be chasing that truck around in the near future, but I do want to check out the Grilled Cheese truck. Mmm.

After filling up on Korean BBQ and ice cream cookie sandwiches (with Red Velvet ice cream!) we drove to the Griffith Observatory. We've always talked about going there, but never found (or made) the time. Since we were doing a LA half day, it worked out perfectly.

Originally, we were going to listen to a lecture called "All Space Considered", but we were late and the auditorium was full. Full? Yes, full. So instead, we watched an awesome show in "the world's best" planetarium. (Kent said the brochure said something like that. I can't remember the exact wording, but it made it sound like it was the top dog of all planetariums. Unfortunately, I can only compare it to the planetarium in Salt Lake where I would occasionally go to watch laser light shows featuring Pink Floyd or U2. What else do you do when you're at BYU and you want to do something in the big city?) The show was really fantastic, so maybe it IS the best planetarium. Plus, the lighting was cool.

There's nothing like an observatory to get your mind thinking about life and what lies beyond. I definitely want to go again.

Not the best photo in the world, but pretty good for a camera phone. Good times were had on our LA Half Day and although we know we aren't LA Hipsters, it was fun to pretend.

On Saturday, we woke up too early. Kent got his hair cut (which, I must say, grows at an astounding rate) and I cleaned. I've decided it's better to clean every two weeks versus deep clean every month. Took me long enough to figure that one out. Better late than never. We then packed up our bags and three baskets of laundry (no washer and dryer in the apartment...boo) and headed to Claremont to watch the first half of our favorite college football team with Kent's parents. Shanon also let me borrow Mockingjay (thank you!) and I'm almost half way through. I can't get enough of the Hunger Games series.


We left at half time so we could see this little guy blow out his candles at my parents' house.

For McCray's 7th birthday we roasted hot dogs by the swimming pool and enjoyed some Nacogdoches cake. (I think someone told him not to eat the candle and his face sort of shows some confusion. I think he knew he could only lick the frosting, but the comment threw him off.) Kent also got to finish watching the game and we won! Go Cougars.

Sunday was Sunday. We went to church, ate pot roast, sat around the table and talked, played a crazy game of 21 (Ever tried chocolate covered raisins dipped in mayonnaise? Apparently, it's not too good.) and a few rounds of Pounce. Kent introduced that game to my family and I love it. I'm slow, but it's fun.

Monday, like Saturday, we woke up too early, but this time it was for a good cause. As tradition has it, we went to Oak Glen for a breakfast to benefit the local firefighters. The breakfast is good, but it's more fun to be in the little apple-growing community of Oak Glen. Everything is slower and everything literally revolves around apples.

I always stock up on my apple supply, but never finish it. I'm working on the cider and I plan on eating all of the apples whether by themselves or in something. Last night for dessert we had Applesauce Cake and it was pretty good. Thank you, Martha Stewart and Every Day Food.

The rest of the day was great: barbecuing, more talking, holding my sister's baby (he is an ANGEL baby...I want one like him), relaxing, and maybe doing a load of laundry here and there.

All in all, one wonderful weekend and a great last hurrah to summer.

stretchy pants

Today, I graduated to stretchy pants.


No, I don't mean those lovelies above, but I am wearing jeans with an elastic waistband.


What?! Who knew I'd be so grateful for such things.

My sister donated 4 bags of maternity clothes to my child-growing cause, so I am set for maybe the rest of my pregnancy. Kent's not too pleased about the new garbage bags littering our already crowded closet, but I am so grateful to have siblings who are done with their child-bearing years. I can't begin to tell you how much money we are saving thanks to their generosity. Maternity clothes? Check. Crib? Check. Rocking chair? Check.We even have a Johnny Jump Up. We feel lucky indeed, and quite prepared.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy the elasticized freedom while it lasts because unfortunately (and fortunately), it won't last forever.