Week 16: Avocado

Yup, according to BabyCenter, Bean is now approximately 4 1/2 inches long and weighs around 3 1/2 ounces. Her legs are much more developed, her head is more erect, her eyes have moved closer to the front of her head, and her ears are close to their final position. And get this- her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day. Crazy! No really. That's nuts! I'm sorry, but it still blows my mind thinking of everything that's going on inside my body. Mind = boggled.

Well, the holidays are behind us, just like that. There always seems to be such a hurried, stressful build-up, then it's over in a flash. Thankfully, since we both have this week off, our vacation isn't over yet! It's been SO nice to have some time off! During our trip up north we were able to visit the fam's old stomping grounds of Alameda, have dinner with our transplanted friend Matt, wander around Berkeley for a while and eat at the one and only Chez Panisse. I have been an admirer of Alice Waters since first hearing about her and her food philosophy and Brian and I have been wanting to eat here for years. We were so glad that we were finally able to get there (and score a lunch reservation at the cafe), and all the more pleased that Mom & Dad C went with us. Our meal completely lived up to any and all expectations - we had an amazing lunch!

A couple of follow-ups from last week's post:

1. In case you were concerned, I kept cozy up north, thanks to the warm puffy jacket I got from Brian and the snuggly fleece jammies from "Santa."

2. Bean's dad bought us the coolest Lullaby Renditions of Coldplay CD* along with this contraption that will not only allow us to play music to Bean, but also will allow us to eventually listen to Bean's heartbeat. So far all we've heard was my tummy growling. Go figure! *Ahem*

So anyway, we're back at home now, enjoying the rest of our vacation being mellow, hanging out with Dakota. It's been wonderful! I wish it could last forever...or at least another week...but I'll take this one- and milk it to its very last drop!

Well, Happy New Year, everyone (and Happy Birthday, Dad)! 2008 was, without exaggeration, life-changing and 2009 promises to exceed even that. I look forward to the new year and all the good things in store for us, including, of course, the highly anticipated arrival of Bean. I really can't even begin to imagine what this year is going to be like, but bring it, 2009 - I'm ready!

* These CDs are seriously the coolest, possibly ever! We'll probably get others, but of course we had to start off with Coldplay, since they're my absolute fave. :)