Just one more month!

I have officially hit the one month mark until my due date, and I couldn't be more excited! My mind is turning wondering what Lily will look like, how will it feel to hold her and see her for the first time...I just can't wait. This last week or so has been the first week where I've felt very pregnant and am noticing my limitations. Even at yoga on Saturday, there were some movements I've been able to do this whole pregnancy, but my body was not having it last week. I was denied with aches and pains before I even got started. I still do really like prenatal yoga though, even though I'm a couple moves short...it's relaxing and helps the pain on my back quite a bit. If anyone is in the Bay Area and wants some great yoga, birthing, breastfeeding, or newborn care classes, I definitely recommend Harmony. We've loved it so far.

Despite the additional aches, Justin and I have managed to stay pretty active. Last week he had his first big semiconductor convention up in San Francisco. I took the BART up to meet him around 4 so we could walk around the city and have dinner. It was quite the experience. There are your usual "characters" on the BART, but one guy in particular stuck out. This was probably because he looked over at me (well I think he looked at me...one of his eyes was focused in my direction) and asked if I was ready to party and could he rub my stomach. Never one to turn down a party, I said, SURE, and off we went!

Okay, seriously...gross! Do you really think I would let that happen? Instead, I laughed nervously, turned away, tried to avoid looking in that direction for the last three stops, and ran (or waddled) off as soon as I could. We ended up having a great dinner at a mexican bistro, did a little shopping, and took the BART home together.

Yesterday, Justin and I made our way north up to Petaluma, CA. It's this adorable city in the North Bay with tons of shops, restaurants, and a river walk. We took Cha Cha with us and wandered around, afterwards hitting up some nearby Outlet Shops. On the way back down South we stopped in Oakland to have dinner with a friend/mentor of Justin's, Col. Bill Schwartz. He's a great guy that initially helped Justin get into West Point.

Downtown Petaluma

This weekend we are off for yet another mini-adventure. We are leaving Friday after work for Medford, Oregon to meet my mom and step-dad. It's just over a 6 hour drive and halfway between here and Tacoma. They are bringing down some items that were too big for me to take on the plane after the baby shower, a rocking chair (the one my mom rocked me, my brother, and Madison in), and her treadmill--whoo hoo! So the four of us are staying the night in Oregon, and then Mom is heading back down to CA with us until Wednesday. I think this might have been the longest I've ever gone without seeing her, so I am very excited!

I'm getting used to CA, although I still miss the pacific northwest quite a bit. I used to daydream about moving away--specifically to the bay area, when I was in college, but now that I'm away from friends and family, I'm really missing them quite a bit. Once Lily is here, I know it will be a bit easier to meet people (I plan on joining some Mom-Groups in the area), and it'll be nice to be able to travel again. We actually have already purchased tickets for the end of September to come visit.  Throughout this whole move, I'm really lucky that I have Justin. He's been kind and incredibly patient with me while I get used to relocating...while pregnant. :)

Other than that, we've just been working and prepping for Lily's arrival. I go to the doctor once a week now for check-ups, and everything seems to be going great. Lately, she's using my stomach as a bouncy house, but I really love feeling her move around. Justin and I have the nursery ready to go, installed the car seat (those directions are NOT easy btw...), and have my hospital bag packed and ready by the door. My mom's going to fly back down right around the due date, and then again after Justin goes back to work to help me out.

Here are some horrible quality photos from my iPhone. I'll have to get my actual camera out and take some better ones of the nursery.

We miss everyone and can't wait to see you!!!

Life is Good.

Nearly 9 months after coming back from Iraq, I have finally finished cleaning and organizing a garage. The garage is certainly a small step for humanity, and probably a small step for most people. But, for whatever reason, having a clean and organized garage (except for Shayna's Pilates machine which I promise will get moved!) is a great indicator that we've finally settled into a place. Of course, it's also a great indicator that I've ran out of excuses for not unpacking. For the first time since 1999, I have finally completely unpacked from the military.

I have roughly a week left on the military payroll until I'm completely out of the military. For the past 70 plus days, I've been working for LAM Research while on leave. LAM Research is a semiconductor equipment company that produces machines, for a lack of a better term, that are integral to the production of computer chips. The machines that LAM makes, and exports, etch and clean the silicon wafers at fabrication plants worldwide for other companies that buy our products. This is obviously not what my West Point Physics instructors would've predicted my post-Army career would involve - but I'm having a great time here. The technology, pace, and the quality of people who work with me at LAM are all exactly what I wanted to do outside of the military. As an extra sweetener, my work is roughly a 5-8 minute drive from our home.

Unfortunately, I'm loathe to really describe what I do at LAM yet as I'm still figuring it out! But, basically, I work in an organization called Business Operations that acts as both a planner, manager, and sort of a traffic cop if you will for manufacturing and other business processes within LAM. There are a number of analogies that I've heard that describe what Business Operations does at LAM. But, I'll leave that for another blog post - by then I hope I can articulate them more succinctly.

Recently Shayna and I have been exploring California on the weekends. We went down to San Louis Obispo and met some absolutely amazing people there. I hope we get to go down there again in June actually. This time though, I won't try to take Highway 1 on the way back because the drive is a bit too slow for a Sunday evening (i.e. narrow, curvy, and touristy).

Oh, and finally, it is the thrill of a lifetime to feel your baby kick through her mom's stomach. Lily is either going to be a soccer player or a volleyball player, that's for sure given her love of kicking (fist pump?!) inside of Shayna! Regardless of volleyball, soccer, or anything else she wants to do - she's going to have a Dad who loves her.

O.k., well, it's time to get to bed. I wake up at 4:30am Monday through Friday so I can get to the gym and then get to work by 7:15am. It's a good routine, and not too brutal because I work so close to home. The working close to home has also allowed me to go home for lunch and see Shayna.

Life is good.

Settled in CA....just in time to head back up to WA!

I thought it was about time for an update!! Things are going well in CA...Justin is getting settled into the civilian world and his job in Business Operations for Lam Research. It was a bit of an adjustment at first: he was showing up to work so early (late by Army standards) that no one else was even in the office yet...or getting used to being able to wear jeans to work on a Friday. However, he's working hard and doing just an amazing job. I'm so proud of him and how much he's learning, and I'm happy that he's happy.

I'm still working from home and loving it. I really surprised myself initially with how well I'm able to focus and get through a work day at home feeling incredibly productive. I was back to WA for work last month, and I head back up next Tuesday for another 5 days. I miss Justin a ton while I'm gone, but it's really nice to get home and see my family, friends, and coworkers. I really miss going into the clinic every day, and living 10 minutes away from my mom.

We are finally all moved in and settled into our rental home. It's in South Fremont, in a circa 70s area called Warm Springs. We really lucked out on a great home...3 bedrooms (so room for guests!), a fantastic yard (see our new garden below), and a membership to the housing community's pool right next door. I have yet to decide if I'll be willing to put on a swimsuit while pregnant, but at least I have the option.

It's a work-in-progress, but we are both pretty proud!

We've been having a great time on weekends. A couple weekends ago my good friend Brittany was in town. Justin and I jetted down to Monterey on my birthday to meet up with her family and explore the Aquarium--we all had a great time. It was amazing seeing her baby girl too--she's getting such a personality! Later that day Justin and I made our way up to SF and hung out at Fisherman's Wharf and had dinner at a great restaurant with his high school friend Khai.

Cha-Cha even got some sight seeing in!

Justin just relaxing. :)

Last weekend my friend Natalie was in town, so we made it out to Sam's Chowder House in Half-Moon Bay, and even up to SF for an evening. I have to say, I love living in a place where the sun is always shining and we have some amazing options for the weekends.

We're also getting ready for our little girl to arrive this August. Lily Sydelle Raphael (named after both our grandmas) should be here in mid-August, and we're starting to get so excited about all the planning and preparation. I *think* I've settled on colors for the nursery after desperately wanting to avoid it looking like something threw up pink all over the place, we start pre-childbirth classes in June, and I have been having more than a great time finding adorable baby clothes!

All in all things in CA are going well. It's been an adjustment, and while I really miss WA, it's exciting building a new life with my husband down here....with a flight under two hours back home. 

We miss you all, and hope to see you soon. If anyone wants to take a trip to the Bay Area...you have a place to stay!

Hello from California!

It's been almost two months since we last updated the blog--definitely time to fill everyone in!

I'm writing from our temporary housing in Fremont, CA that we moved into on March 9th. We are living in a full furnished apartment that Justin's new company is putting us up in until April 1st, called Mission Peaks Apartments. For an apartment, it's pretty nice. There's a huge park area in the middle of the complex, with a pool, walkways, fitness center and lounge area. The only bad thing is our cell phone signal...or the lack of one...in our ground floor abode! Overall, it's nice, although I'm glad it's temporary.

When we came and visited Fremont in December I was absolutely convinced that I would NOT live in this city. I told everyone it had to be San Jose or Mountain View--anywhere but here! In December we couldn't find a grocery store, a book store, not even a Starbucks!! *gasp* We must have just been driving in completely the wrong direction, because stumbling around last week we found an adorable part of town called Irvington that has cute shops, stores, and yes, a Starbucks. *phew*


We were house hunting when we first got here last week. Justin and I have decided we'll rent for a year until we figure out where we want to live, and then next year delve into the home buying process. We found a great house in North San Jose, until we looked up the crime in the area. Other than the sex offender next door, the murder two blocks away, and the lack of any sort of security system, it wasn't too bad. Justin wasn't sold. Luckily, we looked at another home later that day in South Fremont and it was perfect. No crime, 5 minutes from his new job, three bedrooms (come visit!!!), two bathrooms, and the community pool next door sounded good to us. We filled out the application and the home is ours as of April 1st. It's taken a ton of stress off my shoulders to know where we're going to be living, and most importantly, where our baby will be living come this August.

Speaking of the baby, the pregnancy is going really well. Other than these headaches that seem to pop up whenever they want, I've been feeling pretty good. I was lucky to not get any morning sickness, and any stomach aches go away with my diet ginger ale. We fly back up to WA on Wednesday to tie up some loose ends, and then on Thursday the 17th, I have an ultrasound. I'll be 18 weeks, so there's a good chance that they'll be able to tell us whether it's a boy or a girl! It seems like over the past two weeks my belly just popped out! I'm really sick of people telling me how huge I am...do they not understand that I FEEL huge and there are nicer ways of saying it than calling me huge?! I suppose I should get used to it! For those that haven't seen--here's my baby bump so far:

I feel like I'm missing something, because it seems like everyone else "has a feeling" about whether it will be a boy or a girl, and I definitely do not. I don't know if it is because I just don't have a preference, but I'm not leaning towards one gender over the other. Justin's mom is convinced it's a boy, my mom is convinced it's a girl....who knows. I have learned that there are a million ways to try and guess (Chinese Calendar, Quizzes, the heart rate) but I'll just wait until the ultrasound.  No guessing here!

Other than that things are going well. To be honest, leaving WA is very hard for me. My family, my friends, and my job are all there, and when Justin decided to get out of the Army, I didn't know I would still have to move. I was excited about moving when he was going to be in the Army for a career, but then when he got this job the first thing I could think was, "Wait, you are getting out of the Army and I'm STILL leaving home?!" I suppose the worst of it is leaving my mom. As sad as it is I've never been more than an hour away from here. I'm definitely glad it's only a two hour flight!

I really lucked out with my job though. My boss is wonderful and I've grown pretty attached to her. She's letting me keep my job and work remotely from CA. Obviously I won't be doing any therapy, but I can continue to do the scheduling, billing, and administrative end of my duties. I'm also hoping to start grad school next January!


Well...that's enough for now! To everyone in WA, I miss you and love you all! We'll make sure to keep you updated and start blogging a bit more now that we are getting settled. I'd say it's Justin's turn next!

       Love, Shayna

Married with a baby on the way!

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since Justin or I have had a chance to update the blog, but we definitely have a lot of updates...I'll give you the shortened version.

The wedding in October was amazing. Justin and I had the best time surrounded by our friends and family. There are some great photos Wedding Photos here if you'd like to take a look!

It was great to see Justin's friends and family that are spread out all over the country--I know some he hadn't had a chance to see in a couple years.

So shortly after the wedding we went on our honeymoon to Roatan, which is a small island off of the mainland of Honduras. We went snorkling, SCUBA diving, zip-lining, and just relaxed. If you're looking for a fun place to travel, I would DEFINITELY recommend Roatan!

After we got back, we talked to my doctor about having children. We thought it would take about 4 or 5 months--boy were we wrong! It must have been meant to be because I'm due August 18th! Justin and I got to hear the heartbeat and see the ultrasound last Monday. It was a pretty amazing experience. I've been really luck so far **knock on wood** with no morning sickness--I just want to sleep ALL THE TIME!

I always remind myself how lucky I am to have an amazing person like Justin in my life. He remains my best friend, and I'm so happy to be sharing the rest of my life with him.

We also will have another update pretty soon...so stay tuned!!