no more work for weeks!

The past week dragged by, as time generally seems to do right before something exciting happens. I did manage to have a short little reunion with my friend and former roommate Kimmy, which was a nice little treat amongst an otherwise endless few days. On Friday evening I landed in snowy, snowy Edmonton, dug my car out from its parking spot, and from that moment I was officially on vacation.  Okay, so I'm still home... but not for long!

On Thursday morning Ryan and I will be headed to the airport, this time for pleasure rather than business.  Fast forward far too many hours of sitting on a plane, and we'll be in Tokyo! This trip has been many months in the making and we are both extremely excited to finally visit Japan. Of course there are still a million things to do before we leave, but being the procrastinator that I am I'll likely hold off on packing until Wednesday night. Is procrastination genetic? If so, our child is doomed to many late nights in high school finishing up assignments due the next morning.

We have a rail pass and we plan to explore the country. Who goes on a backpacking trip at 4 months pregnant?  Me, of course.  My greatest hope and biggest fear is that this baby will be just like Ryan and I and long to explore the world. Everyone should travel.  I'll always encourage the adventures, but cry whenever he or she leaves me.

In Osaka I'll be reunited with some of the wonderful friends I made in Dubai, including Naf and Sayaka who are getting married. Naf was the first friend that I ever met on my Emirates journey, and I'm so glad that I can be there for their big day! 6 days later, I'll reminisce about my own big day on Ryan and I's first wedding anniversary. I can't believe that 12 months has gone by so quickly.  We'll be back from Japan and in Seattle by that point, and I'm certain that we'll have an amazing day filled with food and airplanes. When in Washington, a trip to the Boeing factory is mandatory.

By the time that we return home, I'll be halfway through this pregnancy already. Today I'm 17 weeks pregnant, and according to what I read on the internet, my baby is now the size of an onion. Onions are boring and gross, so I read a much funner site that explains pregnancy with a great deal of sarcasm instead of sugarcoating it. They tell me that my baby is the size of an iPhone, which sounds much cooler to me. My little iPhone isn't making me feel nearly as sick as previous weeks, which is definitely a relief.  My so called "bump" fluctuates day by day and I'm at that fun stage of just looking like I've ate too much cake.. but let's be honest, I have ate too much cake.

Now don't go assuming that I've already forgotten about my first baby, Niko. He's cuddling me as I type, and got a much needed haircut this week. 

 I'm sad that we can't take him with us on our trip, but he'll have a great time in Red Deer with his grandparents.  In my guilt over leaving him behind, I picked up a stuffed bunny at the pet store... it's his very first Easter!

Now that I've successfully wasted a great deal of time thinking of all sorts of random thoughts to create a blog post, it's time for me to go be a little bit productive... but on a final note, I need to thank my wonderful sister and brother in law for being my heroes this week. I was gone for 3 days during a ridiculous snowstorm and came home to a shovelled driveway. I am forever grateful,  especially after getting home late from my pairing. Thank you, thank you, soooo very much!!