Safari Park Gestation

Eric and I spent part of the afternoon connecting with the animals at the Safari Park.

The gestation period for a kangaroo is about 30 days.

Of course the rest of the development occurs after the birth, but that sure makes for an easy labor.

Eric's perspective.

My perspective.

The gestation period for a tiger is 100 days.

Well, this just isn't fair.

The ring tailed lemur's gestation period is that of a tiger and a kangaroo combined.

But I would take it in a heartbeat. 

At 282 days pregnant, I have lemur envy.

A Baby Carriage

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a party with a baby carriage cake.

Eric's mom, Evelyn, designed this cake for her son (a 1980 baby).  The design was reused for her daughter's baby shower, and then for mine.  I chose the cake flavors, the colors, and the flowers.  I decided on wax flowers as a homage to my mother who grew them at our house and remind me of her.  

The cake was amazing for so many reasons.

Leslie volunteered her house to host, but Marla was commandeered into the official position. 

Plus, there was lots of help behind the scenes with both of their sets of daughters.  

But that is one of the joys/perks to having girls, as far as I am concerned.

There was attention to detail galore.

(Thank you, Pinterest.)

Donna (on the left) I have known since kindergarten.  My sisters and I used to walk from Murrieta Elementary to the Murrieta Machine Shop every day after school, where Arlean (Donna's mother and shop owner) would make us grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, while we waited to be picked up.

Lisa, originally a friend of my parents' neighbor in Vista, I have known since I was two.  We are birthday twins.

This is my nieces first baby shower!

It doesn't get more idyllic than this for an event.

Elle drew the female reproductive system for the game that Eric won months ago.

Denise battled it out for the yarn that closest matched my belly.

Name the ultrasound image part was a fun, near impossible (except for Marla), challenge.

I received so many handmade gifts.  

My friends and family are talented.

 I also received gifts from Japan and Switzerland as well!

I love who I surround myself with.

Thanksgiving

Since the famous Fakesgiving has come and gone, Eric and I celebrated the 

holiday in our hometown.  

The tide lately has been so low.  Neither of us have walked this far under the pier.

Thanksgiving dinner consisted mostly of pre-made refrigerated Trader Joe dishes.  Our absolute favorite of the four was the corn pudding (yellow and white corn baked in a creamy corn puree with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses).  I think we are going to have make this one from scratch next year.  It was unbelievably good.  

I should mention that Eric's favorite dishes were the Stovetop stuffing and the turkey breast from Costco, but his third choice was the corn pudding.

Underneath all this whip cream is a delicious pumpkin pie my aunt made for us.

I love November.  

And soon enough the month is about to get even better.

Birthday in Oceanside

The morning started with presents, as any birthday morning should start.

Eric and I went to a teddy bear shop in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and fell in love with this strawberry Steiff bear, but didn't want to purchase an extra seat for her while on our journey so we didn't purchase her at the time.  I totally forgot about her, so it was a super fun surprise.
She is adorable.  

My aunt and uncle took us out to lunch at LTH, and then to the Oceanside Museum of Art.

The museum currently has a James Hubbell exhibit.

Hubbell weaves nature into his art, works with all sorts of mediums, and specializes in everything from architecture to stained glass.  He is 86 and just as active as ever, even going to China this year to continue to working on his Pacific Rim Park project, where he builds and donates a park to various places around the world located along the pacific ocean.

Unbeknownst to me, Hubbell designed and built the Kumiai portion of the Tecate Community Museum.  You can't tell how big it is unless you see it with some perspective.

The funny thing about this piece is that the "art" is looking at someone looking into the box (which is filled with little lights).  Eric had no idea he was on display!

Marla and the girls met up for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  We took a walk on the beach, had ice cream, and went to the harbor for dinner.

Such a fun birthday.