getting ready...

Well folks, I'm officially 35 1/2 weeks along, which means that little Emory could be here pretty soon! I keep thinking about the fact that Suzy came at 37 weeks which is just around the corner. Whoa!
So these past few weeks have been all about finishing up schoolwork, nesting, getting things ready, and trying to pack in some fun summer activities for Suzy.

First, we took a hospital tour which helped a lot to see how things are done here in the US. SHould be a much different experience than El Salvador...in some ways good (aka I'm not going to get a parasite after delivering this time around) and bad (my sister-in-law is not going to be delivering this time but rather whatever doctor is at the hospital.) By the way, it's kinda surreal that our hospital on Sunset Blvd is right across the street from the Church of Scientology that Tom Cruise goes to. Sometimes I forget I live in a city of famous people. Until I see places I pass by everyday on the movies and TV shows. It's still weird, though.

check out those cute lips!

Also, we found out that Emory has turned around and is no longer breech! Yay!

We also finally got a second car, something we had been wanting to hold off on doing but find is increasingly necessary as walking everywhere I need to go is basically doable, but only when it's not 105 degrees and I'm not so pregnant or I don't have two kids. Elvis has to take the car to work so if i needed to go anywhere, i had to walk it.

So, here she is! Thanks, tax refund!

just call me Soccer Mom

So, now that I have a car, I can take Suzy to do fun things these last weeks of her being an only child, like swim lessons and meeting Elvis at the botanical gardens for free concerts and a picnic dinner. 

We'll keep you updated!!

Baby Shower #2

Last weekend some of my closest girlfriends here in Pasadena threw us a really fun baby shower, complete with all of our favorite pies to eat! yummm

I guess this is a great time to announce to yall who don't know our little guy's name........

drumroll please.........

Emory Cruz Henriquez Baldwin

Emory is my dad's middle name and Cruz was Elvis' dad's middle name

Nayeli drew this for the invitation

the beautiful and talented hostesses!

the mami and the papi 

our friends were very thoughtful with the gifts...the shower organizers got us the double stroller we had been wanting! Suzy was so excited. 

We also played fun games...this was a little trivia game about Suzy and Emory's pregnancies to see if we could answer similarly...we totally dominated that game!

the next game involved everyone putting balloons under their shirts then doing a relay with a water balloon between their knees to see what it feels like for pregnant women to waddle to the bathroom! hilarious.

and of course anytime there are water balloons, someone is going to get wet and someone is going to get thrown over a shoulder and spun around out of revenge. 

Ever since the first day we told Suzy we were having a baby, she said she wants to be a "big friend" not a big sister. She's going to have a "baby friend". Love that our friends really did a great job to make sure she felt special at the shower too! 

Suzy's bud Dzabe

posing in front of the pie table

words of encouragement for each of us

baby shower #1

A few weeks ago the ladies of our apartment complex threw me a baby shower...so sweet of them! I love this picture of us all below because it shows the beautiful diversity of our apartments; here in this one picture the following countries are represented (either where they are from or where they serve): Korea, Brazil, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, South Africa, Cameroon, England, Kyrgyzstan, and I'll rep El Salvador! 

Pictures to come soon of last week's Baby Shower #2...not quite so tame! =)

Big Bear Mountain

On Saturday we drove up to the mountains that are less than 2 hours away (and serve as ski resorts during the winter) to get some fresh air and cooler temps. It's almost surreal how the 8,000+ ft mountain rises straight up from the desert-like flatlands. To our surprise (and delight!) Memorial Day weekend up there is the official yard sale weekend! I bet we saw over 100 yard sales. Suzy may have gotten a drum set for $5. I may have regretted that decision later. Elvis may be more excited about teaching her to play the drums than she even is.  Our little one on the way may never sleep. I promise a video of her jamming away soon. 

Anyway, it was a lovely day of exploring...here are some pics:

beach baby

We had a great weekend, fully taking advantage of our 3 day weekend! We went up to the mountains on Saturday (pictures to come soon) and then headed to the beach after church on Sunday. Our friend Nayeli went with us to the beach and took some maternity pictures while we were there...how is this little guy gonna have room to grow for 2 more months?!?!

Mama's day!

This weekend was extra special in many ways....Saturday Elvis and I went to a couple's retreat hosted by our church which was a fun way to connect with other couples from our church and have some time to reconnect after months of being apart. We were close to the beach so we took Suzy afterwards to Long Beach for some fun in the sand, then we headed to a nearby Salvadoran restaurant that Elvis's cousin owns for some major piggin' out on yummy Salvadoran food! She wanted us to try everything on the menu...we didn't complain!

On Sunday, I got to sleep in and Elvis prepared a yummy breakfast and lunch (we all love weekends because Elvis has time to cook!) and we braved the almost 100 degree temps to go to a nearby botanical garden which we decided to become members of. There was a jazz band playing there which was a nice touch!

Add in a Thai dinner out and i call it a great day! Thanks Elvis and Suzy! 

riding the train around the gardens

picking mulberries

taking a break from the heat

watching the jazz band

an exciting week...

...and it's only tuesday! yesterday i reached the milestone of 3rd trimester...

...and today was super exciting because I got to take a trip to the ER! 

No, not because of labor threats or anything, but because of a dog  bite! 

Suzy and I were walking this morning around the neighborhood and these 2 small dogs ran out from a house straight towards us and one starting biting me repeatedly on my ankles (thankfully he didn't go for Suzy!) Since he broke the skin and since I'm in my 3rd trimester, according to my insurance that's a trip straight to the ER. 

Boy let me tell you, that was some expensive hydrogen peroxide i got today!! They just cleaned it up, took an animal bite report for the police, and we were on our way. Thankfully Elvis is now permanently back from NY so he was able to get off work and take me. And Suzy was awesome too- offering me lotions to put on the bite and even brought out her piggy bank and said that i could use it to pay the doctor =) 

I'm also thankful for supportive neighbors that offered to keep Suzy and who were checking in on me all day...well at least we know our way to the ER now when the big day does finally come! 

Pasadena Doo Dah parade

Today we went to the 36th annual Pasadena Doo Dah Parade...a spoof of the oh-so-famous Rose Parade that graces the exact same street each year. 

The parade organizer came to speak at one of my classes last year, and my interest was piqued immediately. I knew I had to go check out the parade where the wackier, the better. There apparently are no rules...only that you be very ridiculous and random.  

And instead of throwing candy like at normal parades, people threw tortillas. 

It's kinda like Halloween for hippies....or maybe what's it's like to use hallucinogenic drugs. 

Anyway, it was awesomely weird:

some cute spectators of the weirdness

these guys were grilling hot dogs to deliver to the crowd, while this scantily clad skateboarder zoomed around happily with his hula hoop. 

There was a whole band of middle aged men with kids toys they had hooked up to amps. Probably my favorite. 

i also loved the guys zooming around in little cupcake cars