The Places You've Been

I was looking through my calendar the other day and realized that you've been quite the traveler in your short time of being in my tummy. I always hear stories about my family's trip to Brazil when I was in my mom's tum, and I consider myself as being there along with everyone else, so I thought it would be fun for you to know all of the places you've been so far as well.

1) Feb 08 - Santa Barbara - You were tiny, but it counts!
2) Mar 08 - Maui, Hawaii - Your dad and I had a planned trip to Hawaii before we found out about you, and we thought about canceling because we didn't know what to expect. The pregnancy was very new, and we obviously didn't have any experience, so we thought I might be sick the entire time, and have no fun. At the last minute, we decided to brave it and go. Besides, it was an all expense paid trip (from your dad's work). When we got there it was fine, aside from me being a bit tired. The island air made me feel great, and it was really relaxing. Except for us having to keep you a secret - and the sushi that I was newly required to avoid never looked better - darn it!
3) Mar 08 - LA, CA - This was the weekend your dad and I spent in LA with the fam finally announcing to our siblings that you were on your way! Most of the siblings had to be called. However, at dinner at the Jonathan Club with your Grandpa Stilwell, Aunt Bobi, Uncle Steve, Meg, Mike and the Considines, your dad announced that he had 'some pictures' he wanted to share from our trip to Hawaii the week before. It was a trick and he was actually passing out pictures of you (although slightly indistinguishable in your small state). Steve was sitting next to Sally Considine, and they were looking at you upside down asking us if you were a picture of Molakini (we all got a big kick out of that).. Bobi knew right away, and shouted loudly "I knew it!" Apparently she had been suspicious after spending the day with me, and had already sent text messages to uncle Chris and aunt Mia about her suspicions... One of her clues was the fact that I actually ate breakfast - which I never do, and skipped a morning coffee, even though we were up pretty early. Can't get anything past her..
4) Mar 08 - Chicago, IL - A place I go often for work. I was a little nervous for a full fledged work trip with you, but luckily I felt great. The hotel I stay at (The Peninsula Chicago) is right by some super cute baby shops and department strores, so I browsed by them and looked for stuff for you.
5) Apr 08 - Austin, TX - Your dad and I went to visit your Uncle Steven & Aunt Mindy and your cousins, Bradley, Emmy and Olivia. They moved there last year, and it was the first time we'd been there to visit them. They showed us all around and we had some really fabulous BBQ! It was really fun to see your cousin's getting so big! Your dad left after the long weekend, and I stayed and did some work for the rest of the week after checking into the Four Seasons in downtown Austin.
6) Apr 08 - LA, CA - You and I headed back to LA for a really quick trip (24hrs) to meet little Grace Wolpert, who was 4 days old. We stayed at uncle Steve's, and Jennie and Christina joined. Being around a newborn baby was so fun, it made me so excited for you to come. Hurry up!
7) May 08 - Chicago, IL, - Back to Chicago. This time the cat was out of the bag about you, which made it easier for me to skip work dinners if I was too tired.. I stayed at the Ritz Carlton downtown, the Peninsula was booked :( but it was still close enough to my favorite restaurant, RL.. so that was ok.
8) May 08 - Portland, OR, - Another work trip, we stayed at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland, which is really adorable. This trip was fun, and was topped off by a big yacht ride down the Willamette River with dinner and casino night.
9) Jun 08 - Minneapolis, MN - Work trip, the weather was great and I got to see the Mississippi River for the first time (that I can remember), which was very exciting. We stayed at the Grand Hotel downtown. Because you are getting bigger, FAST, it's getting a bit more difficult to travel, so I think I'm going to stay in San Francisco for a while.. except for a quick trip to LA soon and then to Utah. At some point soon the airlines aren't going to allow me on a plane, so I need to make it fast.

We are already planning all of the places we're going to take you after you arrive, and we can't wait. Your dad and I are hoping that you like traveling as much as we do (time will tell). So far, we're planning on taking you to Utah for Christmas, London in February to see the Hinchey's, Hawaii in March and then Yellowstone with the Mickelson's next summer. We'll see how much you enjoy sitting on an airplane, that may determine how many trips we take.

25 Weeks!

We got a good look at you today, and you are TOO CUTE! We had a fetal echocardiogram untrasound (basically a good look at your heart) today. The Doctor said you are normal and healthy, so we were very glad to hear that.

You are now 1 lb 14 oz already, and are in the 58th percentile for your age (normal),
however, the length of your femur bone measured in the 70th percentile! So they think you may be tall, or at least have long legs. Maybe you got some of uncle David's genes..

The Dr thought you looked a lot like your Daddy, and we both think you have my nose. You weren't being very cooperative for pictures because you kept putting your hands over your face, so I think you were hiding from us, but we did get a couple cutes ones that the Dr printed out for us.

Your Dad

Your dad is so excited for you to come, and he's been preparing for you. Planting grass and ferns in our limited gardening space and planter boxes, replacing our carpet to something soft for you to crawl around on, cleaning out his closet to make room for your clothes, and searching for a new, safe car that's big enough for our newly larger family. He goes to every doctors appt to find out about your progress and watch you grow.



Your dad has been taking very good care of me also. He takes care of dinners and breakfasts at home, and caters to my limited tastes in foods. Every day when he gets home from work, he forgoes his regular gym workout, and we go on a walk together around the city. He already loves you so much and shows it by constantly rubbing my belly, and talking to you because he knows you can hear him now. He's already trying to gang up on me with you, and not let me hear what he's telling you. I have a feeling that's going to continue.. You are so lucky to have such a great daddy.

Stilwell Family Visit

Anticipating the Hinchey family's move to England, the Stilwells all got together for a week in Davis/Granite Bay to celebrate some holidays before the move: Alex's 21st B-day (and 2-part party), Conor's baptism, Fathers Day and my family baby shower. We really know how to cram all the holidays in, and take advantage of the family being in one place. Here are some highlights from the eventful week:

1) The baby shower was really fun, and it's always great to get the Mickelson's and Stilwell's together. You are definitely spoiled already, I'm already starting to call you 'the little prince', because so far 'only the best for little baby Mick' is starting to become a theme. Your fancy crib bedding was only the beginning. During the shower, a very fancy stroller rolled in with a big bow on it from your aunties, Alex and uncle Steve. Let's just say it's the rolls royce of strollers, so they've ensured that you'll be riding around in style. We're feeling more and more prepared for you all the time, and now that our house is filling up with baby gear, the anticipation is getting stronger and stronger, and I can't wait for you to be here.

2) Your cousin Conor was quite a ham at his baptism. He's definitely a comedian already at age one, so I'm sure you guys are going to have so much fun together. He was the only one in church that was baptized that day, and having the whole audience looking at him, and clapping and cheering, was his favorite part. He was very excited and laughed and enjoyed himself very much.

3) Joining the ranks of Fathers was pretty exciting for your dad on his first fathers day. We had a really nice brunch at the Granite Bay CC to celebrate your grandfather and the Hinchey dads. Your dad was really excited about getting a new camera in anticipation of being a dad, and getting some good, quality pics of you. Here is a picture of the card that I got your dad for his first fathers day.

4) Al's b-day was fabulous as expected. Part 1 consisted of a dinner party at Piatti's in Granite Bay, where she requested cocktail attire and even had a signature cocktail 'The Al-Tini'. Can't believe that your big cousin and my little niece is 21. She's so grown up and I'm so proud of her. Part 2 was an all day wine tasting trip to Napa with 14 people including a bunch of her friends, myself and her parents. It was a beautiful summer day in Napa and such a perfect way to celebrate. Your cousin Aiden who is right now obsessed with Alex at the age of 3, came over to her during the week and sqeezed her cheeks and said "Alex, I'm so proud of you" How cute is he?

Your aunt Mia had her movers pack a large number of boxes (too many to count apparently) of baby boy gear for you that your cousins are no longer using or taking to England. They moved it along with many other items for storage and for Bobi's house to Utah, so your dad and I are planning a trip soon to pick it up. We've been told we may need two cars. I'm a little scared because our house isn't that big, and already you are taking over. As a joke, your dad and sing the song "It's the end of the world as we know it" pretty often..

I've been feeling you move around every day for about 3 weeks now. The first time your dad felt you was pretty incredible. Every night when I lay down in bed, you start getting quite active. I think I lull you to sleep during the day when I'm up and around, so you are probably wondering what the heck is going on when I stop moving. I love to feel you move around. You gave your Aunt Mia a nice big kick the other day, and she was so thrilled to feel her little nephew.

Mothers Day

It's pretty cool that we get to celebrate more holidays every year now. Not only your birthday, but Mothers and Fathers day also! Your dad and I love holidays and we love to celebrate, so this is going to be fun. Plus, your birthday is going to be right around Halloween, which happens to be one of my favorite holidays, so you couldn't have planned it better.


Mothers Day was really special this year. We were in Visalia with my mom (Grandma Marci, she's requested that you call her "Glamma", however). Bobi & Chris, Alex and your dad and I went for a long weekend to visit your Grandma and Grandpa. I was pretty surprised that there were gifts and cards for me too.. Your dad gave me a really sweet card, and I put it in a baby book that I'm making for you, he also got me a pre-natal massage at Nob Hill Spa (my fave!).

It's pretty exciting for me to be joining the ranks of mothers this year. The family you are coming into has some pretty incredible mothers, so there is definitely a lot to live up to. I'm sure I'll have access to a ton of advice, which I'm very thankful for.

It's a Boy!

I have to admit, before I was pregnant I thought I would have a house full of daughters some day. I saw lot of pink in my future and imagined lots of ballet classes and hair braiding. However, as soon as we found out about you, we knew that a little baby boy was on his way. I'm not sure why, but we only thought about boys names and looked at boy specific baby gear.
So, on May 23rd, at the ultrasound technician offices in San Francisco, off Van Ness St, when the technician blurted out "It's a boy!", we weren't surprised at all.

There is actually a little more to the story. In the middle of the ultrasound, as we were admiring your cuteness and how perfectly you were growing and developing, I started to feel nauseous. I asked to take a break and get up to use the restroom, and as I was trying to stand up, everything went black and I passed out. Luckily your dad was right there to catch me. I'd never fainted before, so neither of us knew what was happening. I woke up a couple seconds later laying down again, the lights were on and several doctors/nurses were coming into the room with big blood pressure machines and worried looks on their faces. Anyway, I ended up being fine, but I have pregnancy related low blood pressure/low blood sugar (it's the worst around this time of pregnancy 18-22 weeks), and I need to make it my habit of turning my purse into a lunch box at ALL times. I can't go an hour without a snack. Of course, there was no harm to you, although it scared your dad pretty bad. It was actually a lot scarier for him than it was for me, I think for a second he thought he may be taking care of me in this state forever.

That night, after calling all of the family to let them know the good news that a baby boy was on his way. We invited some friends over to celebrate. They had to wait to get here to find out the news, and so we tricked them as they walked in.

Telling the Fam

Keeping you a secret was hard. Your Aunt Bobi called me one morning while I was still in bed, and she said enthusiastically "I had a dream you announced you were pregnant, anyway, it was funny, we were all really excited!". All I could respond was, "Huh, how weird". I was in shock. We hadn't told a soul. I was still processing the information myself, and here she was already anticipating your arrival.

After our first 'ultrasound' of you - which was more like us looking at a screen of a kidney bean with a beating heart, we felt a lot more comfortable with the situation and decided to make plans with your grandparents to tell them the news. Grandma and Grandpa Stilwell were so excited they could hardly believe it. We spent a fun weekend with them planning and getting advice. Grandma and Grandpa Mickelson were equally excited, and glad that they were finally going to have a grandchild close by to them!

Knowing that you'll be born with 15 cousins guarantees that your life will be filled with entertainment. They are all of course eagerly awaiting your arrival.

Shortly after I found out about you, I decided to make this video.

Baby Video

I thought it would be a cute way to tell the family we were 'expecting'. Your dad talked me out of it, he was excited and wanted to tell everyone in person/on the phone. You'll notice soon that your dad likes to shoot down all of my best ideas..

We're Pregnant!

We spent the weekend celebrating the upcoming birth of your future friend Baby Wolpert. The shower/party was a hit, and everyone had lots of fun buying pink frilly things for Baby Grace.

Auntie Meg told me a couple times that weekend that she 'had a feeling' I was pregnant. I told her about our negative test the weekend before and (always the optimist) she told me to try again. I resisted because I didn't want to be disappointed. Finally, after all the dust had settled and your Dad and I were relaxing on the couch after the fun weekend, I got up and went to the restroom. I opened the drawer and the extra test from Santa Barbara was staring at me. I figured I might as well take it, it's sitting there.. but had no expectations.


I took the test and two lines appeared!! It was telling me that I was pregnant! I can't really remember what happened next - all I know was I was screaming your Dad's name over and over from the bathroom. He was on the phone with your uncle Brian. After hearing me scream, he quickly told Brian that he had to go - NOW. Your dad knew before I even told him. He came into the bathroom, closed the door, looked at the test, and we both cried.

I can't tell you how incredibly excited we were (and scared!). After our moment of disbelief and joy, we quickly put ourselves together, threw on sweatshirts and raced two blocks away to our local Walgreens and bought more tests-just to make sure. All different brands, with all different ways of telling us the good news 'pink circle' on one, the word 'pregnant' on another, etc.. After that, we were sure. We were going to be parents. A little mini-me would be running around in 9 months, and we loved you already.

Love,
Mom

Our Poppy Seed

To our little poppy seed before we even knew you were there! I'm obviously writing this in retrospect, but I want to tell you a little story, before we even knew about you. Your Dad had just finished a great year at Salesforce (the year ends 1/31), and we went down to Santa Barbara in early Feb to get a little rest and relaxation before the next year started..

We were having a great time at the Biltmore, but I started to get a little suspicious that I might be pregnant when the Billecart Salmon champagne (my fave) that we brought to celebrate our weekend tasted a little funny. When your Dad didn't agree with me, we decided maybe I should take a pregnancy test - he has a nose for bad champagne, I'm sure he'll be teaching you all about it some day. We drove down to the little town of Montecito the next day, and we inspected every pregnancy test at both Safeway and nearby Walgreens for the best one (another Dad trait you'll learn about...)

We were both bursting with enthusiasm as we drove back to the hotel. I wanted to wait a day just to make sure it was more accurate, but we couldn't wait. I took it and it was negative. We were both really sad, and thought 'It's not time yet'.. but we were wrong, we found out the next week that you were only the size of a poppy seed in Santa Barbara - too small to show up on the test, but still very cute I'm sure :)

Love,
Mom