We're back!

George and I are back from a wonderful visit to New Zealand. To me, it felt different: less about seeing the sites and more about finding a place within the community while time allowed. Like every trip to NZ, it was really hard to leave. This time it was even harder because it was so nice to be surrounded by family and so many friends during this time of preparing for the addition to our immediate family.

February 16th, Wellington, New Zealand (21 weeks pregnant)

There have been big developments with our baby girl while we've been gone. The bump is definitely growing, which leaves me longing for dress-wearing weather to reach Seattle. While I admit that part of my bulge may consist of pie, fries, pavlova, lamb, and a host of other NZ treats, a good portion of it is also baby. I passed the halfway point (20 weeks) in the pregnancy while baby girl passed the 1 lb. mark, assuming average length of pregnancy and typical fetal development. I can tell that baby is growing because I can feel her more and more every day, and I felt my first two jabs from the outside while we were in Wellington.

We had a happy return yesterday (following two hours of Canadian and American immigration and customs in Vancouver), complete with spring bulbs poking through the mulch, beautiful baby and Valentine cards, and discovery that one of our neighbors was keeping an eye on our house without us even having to ask. Now that we're back in our nest (this word was chosen quite deliberately), I'm anxious to get my hands on several projects, including painting our laundry and final bathroom (completely safe thanks to low- and no-VOC paints), otherwise finishing those rooms, turning the craft room into the nursery I envision, making these homemade sheets from the awesome shark and whale fabric we found in NZ, turning tea towels into bibs, making these burp clothes, and finalizing about a million baby decisions (yes, including the ever elusive name).

Stay tuned for several photo-heavy posts over the next several days.