Celebrations

Last Thursday Baby Bear and I geared up for our last plane trip before Baby's arrival-- destination Glendora, CA. (By the end of this trip, by the way, Baby had racked up 8 times on a plane!)

We arrived at the Ontario airport and my mom shared great news-- Papa graduated from chemotherapy and is moving on to surgery. They had just gotten results from a cat scan that showed the tumors had shrunk and were hardly noticeable. Praise God!!! Thank you to all of you for your prayers. This was cause for great celebration! And I was so glad to be present for the good news.

Friday night we had most of our immediate family together, which is a big feat these days. We were missing Tony and my brother-in-law Phil, but the rest of us enjoyed a meal together and were able to catch up. I focused on fellowship instead of photos, but I'm kicking myself now that I don't have photos of the occasion and especially of my most adorable niece Sicily. Who by the way will very soon be turning two.

Saturday, my two Aunts-- Patsy and Betty Anne-- threw a shower for family and some friends. It was so great to be with the ladies and share this exciting time. This season is so significant, I'm glad I was able to get out of my Washington bubble and celebrate with people I love in California. Here are some photos...
Aunt Patsy and the delicious cake.
Robyn, Me, Tiffany, Jenn, Nicole and Christa. Can you tell which of these ladies are pregnant?Robyn and I practically share our due date and Nicole will be anticipating her arrival in November.
Here I am with Marie (Tony's stand-in mom during seminary) and Elitza and Kei Toth (Tony's niece and sister-in-law).

Before I went down to California, we started receiving baby gifts in the mail. I tried to wait to open them, but I just couldn't stand it-- I was so excited. So, Tony and I opened and took some goofy pictures as evidence. We were "showered" with some great necessities. Above are our infant car seat and stroller. These and the other goodies still feel a little bit like toys. Hard to believe we'll have a real live baby to go in them soon.
I also enjoyed quality time with my cherished nephew, Oliver. He's four-and-one-quarter now and very much a character. We bonded over my big belly, which he was working hard to match. He'd come by every now and again after eating and drinking and say "Do you see my belly now? It's almost as big as yours." He's convinced Baby Bear is a boy, but we'll have to wait and see.
My sister Colleen. We didn't get much sister time, but it was nice to be together as a family.

I was able to catch up with a couple of good friends from my WPH and Pulte working days-- Lisa and Tracey.

It was great to spend a week in California, especially because of the weather -- the evening lows were the same as the daytime highs in Sequim. Great weather, wonderful fellowship, joyful celebrations... I'm already looking forward to my next trip... Hoping to introduce Baby Bear Toth this Christmas.

Getting Closer

Finally, I am catching up with posting. Here I am at 28 weeks. A constantly growing belly. So much so that I have gotten comments from the cashier at Costco: "You're bigger every time I see you." That is significant since I'm probably in Costco twice a week. Today as I write, we are just days away from 30 weeks. That means just over 10 weeks to go.

We have made progress in our preparations and I had my first shower this weekend. There'll be more of that in the next post. But since I've been so slow getting this one going, I'm afraid that if I don't keep it short, it will never happen. So the rest of the news...

Dad Toth got his Doctorate! Way to go!

Through the generosity of our church, Tony and I were both able to go to McAllen, Texas to be with Mom and Dad Toth and the rest of the family that was able to make it to Dad's graduation ceremony. We had a wonderful time together, although brief. (Pictured above is Tony's immediate family-- Tonia, David, Dad Andy, Mom Dorciane, Tony and Andrew.)

Newphews and Niece-- Michael, Zach, Nathan and Emma Berthiaume (Tonia's kids)

Belly to belly. My most telling profile, but also sometimes a little bit scary.

Other notes: Our flights to Texas brought my first experience with what Tony calls "Cankles." (a.k.a. swollen ankles) And if you're keeping track, that was baby bear's fix and sixth time on a place.

We are both enjoying baby bear's movements these days. Tony has viewed many punches and kicks and baby bear often says hi to me in the middle of the night when I return from a bathroom break.

Anyone remember "African Ant-eating ritual?" The crazy dance from Can't Buy Me Love? Well, if you do, capture that mental picture. And then picture baby bear in my belly doing that dance. (Arms on the right side of my belly and legs on the left side.) It's quite amazing the movements this baby makes.

More to come soon... Love to you all.