AMAZING!

For all you Saved By The Bell fans, Zack Morris was on Jimmy Fallon last night. He's still got the touch after all these years!

Rocky Feels the Baby Kick

You know how they say dogs have a sixth sense about certain things? No, Rocky doesn't see ghosts...but I am convinced he knows there's an addition to our family on the way. About 10 weeks into my pregnancy, he all of a sudden stopped jumping on me, crawling over my belly on the couch (which is a common move for him), and became SO calm every time I'm around him! It's amazing - even if he has so much energy, he'll sit quietly and let me pet him. Then the minute Greg walks in, it's back to roughhousing. Despite what some say, I know he will step up to the plate and be so amazing to our little baby, just as he has to me over the past few months. 

Here he is last night - the baby was kicking like crazy, and he came and snuggled up on my belly: 

Dogs really are amazing friends!

It's a.....

GIRL!!!! We think. Read on to find out more...

After 8 long weeks of waiting, Greg and I had our 22 week ultrasound this morning. Unlike a lot of hospitals. the naval hospital here does not have the doctor come in during this ultrasound - it's just you and the ultrasound technician.  She showed us the whole baby, which to the best of our knowledge looked healthy and happy! She has two arms and two legs and two kidneys and a four-chambered heart (which the technician seemed particularly excited about). We heard the baby's heartbeat, which was around 152 bpm, saw that it was about 1 lb, 2 oz, and saw it squirm around and around. 

The ultrasound technician told us that the baby "looks like a girl," but then said "I see no male parts." She sounded convincing, but at the end of the ultrasound she said "you can never be sure about girls - make sure you save those receipts when you buy pink things!". Which freaked me out a bit - is it a girl or isn't it? After doing some research online, it seems that it's possible to find out if it's a girl at 22 weeks without using process of elimination (ie, doesn't look like a boy, so must be girl). So we'll see...

We have a followup doctor's appointment on Thursday, where he will analyze the results of the ultrasound. Then we should know if the baby is definitely healthy (although I think it is - I'm sure if something was really wrong we would've known about it today), and hopefully, we'll be able to get a more clear answer from the doc about whether it's a girl or not. He'll be using photos from today's ultrasound, so hopefully he'll be able to see something definitive! For now, we're saying it's a girl unless we hear otherwise. 

Either way, it's super exciting. It's great to see our little girl moving around, and feeling her kick me every few hours. She even looked like she had my facial profile in the ultrasound - at the very least, definitely my nose. I can spot a button nose like mine anywhere! It curled up a lot just like mine does in profile pics. Greg said the same thing too, independent of me thinking this. 

Anyway, all very exciting - I'll keep you posted after our appt on Thurs!

Book Reviews

Since I last posted about American Wife, I have read two more books. Both of them were nice, quick reads without being trashy beach reads. I can't believe I've had a streak of three good books (including Am. Wife). Here are the other two...

1) Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. This book is on a lot of "summer reading list" shelves at Borders/Barnes & Noble, and is a good weekend read. My sister Ann's friend from college was actually the person who reviewed Mudbound's manuscript before it was published. After the big wigs said they wouldn't publish it, her friend took it to Algonquin books in Chapel Hill, NC (where they both went to school), and Algonquin took it! A few years later, and it's a bestseller! 

Mudbound takes place in the post-WWII era in the rural South. It's about a woman who left her urban Memphis upbringing after falling in love and getting married to move to a rural farm. The farm itself is separated from a nearby town by a bridge, which is flooded over every time there is a big storm. In any case, it's a great story about race relations, family, and is just a good novel. Southern folklore kind of stuff. If you like reading about the South, you'll like this, but even if you don't you'll enjoy it, too. From reading the acknowledgments in the book, it looks like Barbara Kingsolver was Hillary Jordan's mentor...and I can tell. If you like Babs Kingsolver, you'll like this book. 

2) The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Another book about the South...can you see a trend? Actually, I stumbled across this book in Barnes & Nobles, while looking in the "New Authors" section. This book takes place a little later that Mudbound - it's set in 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi. It's the story of a progressive aspiring writer (who is the only single 23-year old woman with no children in her social circle - crazy!) who decides to write a book from the point of view of "the help", as a way to impress a publisher in New York who she wants to work for. 

Once again, this is a great story first and foremost, but also a great look into race relations, for better or for worse, in the 1960s South. However, as someone who has read many books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the South in the 60s, I found this book refreshing. It's not another cliched book that only deals with basic race issues (as I found Mudbound sometimes was). It has a lot of endearing stories, as well as frustrating ones. Like American Wife, The Help is a longer book (450 pages or so), but I blew through it (started it last Sunday and finished it today, with the help of two 5 hour plane rides!). 

I still haven't read any more of The Art of Racing in the Rain, which I started a few weeks ago. I think I was in the mood for more of a novel than a short story (which this book seems to be). I'm going to continue this book soon, but first I think I'm going to give another book I bought at B&N a shot, called America, America, by Ethan Canin. We'll see how that goes. 

If any of you have any suggestions for good books that are fast reads (meaning, they don't drag on in the beginning, since starting books is the hardest challenge for me), please let me know! 

What I'm listening to....

 - "Poker Face," by Lady Gaga. This song is Palm Springs in a nutshell. Gay men love her, and of      course, discovered her wayyyy before anyone else did. And thus, this song reminds me of   Palm Springs :)

- "Right Round", by Flo Rida. Greg sings this song at least once a day, which is always entertaining. This sound, along with Poker Face, would definitely be on a running mix, if I was running these days.

- "If U Seek Amy", by Britney Spears. The third song that would go on my running mix. So catchy!

Don't worry, I haven't completely reverted back to tween-dom. I'm still listening to Allison Krauss, James Taylor, Paul Simon, and other faves. But these songs are ones I'm finding myself hoping I hear whenever I'm in my car!

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Ctown Visit

The week after Memorial Day was fairly uneventful. I did a lot of GMAT studying, which is still proving to be frustrating, because I'm not magically getting perfect scores all of a sudden on my practice tests!  :) But at least I'm studying, and that's what's important, I guess. I've signed up to take the test on July 14, so I have five weeks to brush up. 

Saturday night, Greg and I went to an event at the O Club on base that was biker themed. As you all know, Greg and I don't exactly have a closet full of Harley garb. But you would be impressed at the officers who do! While I have to admit, I wasn't jumping at the chance to spend my Saturday night on base, I had fun. I met several really nice wives in 3/4 (Greg's unit), and met most of the people that Greg has mentioned on a regular basis, so now I can put faces to names. Best of all, my dad was super excited when I told him I went to an event at the O Club, since some of his fondest Navy memories are from the O Club in San Diego. 

Sunday morning Greg and I left the house before the crack of dawn (4:30, to be exact) to head to the airport. Greg was in the field all last week, so I decided to break my streak of being away from Maryland, and go home! It was great to see Mom and Dad, who took me out to dinner at The Chart House, which is where Greg and I had a brunch the day of our wedding. It only took one bite of crab meat to let me know I was in heaven again!

The week flew by. I spent a lot of time with Mom and Dad, went on walks in the stifling Maryland humidity, went to Annapolis for a little shopping/to gawk at the ridiculous growth of that town, and hung out with Mica, Katherine's fat cat who is on an extended vacation at my parents' house. Before I knew it, Friday afternoon had rolled around, and I was headed back over the Bay Bridge, to Baltimore. Since my flight left at 8:00 AM on Saturday, meaning we'd have to leave Chestertown at 5 to get to the airport in time, I stayed at the airport hotel at BWI. However, Mom and Dad took me out on the town to the best restaurant in Baltimore, called Charleston, before dropping me off at the airport. The last time I was there (as my dad pointed out to the hostess), it was with my entire family and Greg to celebrate our engagement. Two years later, and look at me now (Dad points to belly)! Good laughs for all. The food was fabulous, as always, and we even got to meet famed Baltimore chef Cindy Wolf. After dinner, Mom and Dad dropped me off at the hotel, where I spent a restless night convincing myself that the constant opening of the fire door outside my room was a masked gunman. My nighttime imagination is a little wild these days!

Yesterday, after a looong day of traveling, I landed back in California, where Greg and Rocky picked me up at the airport. It was so great to see them both! I missed them so much. I was so tired yesterday, I pretty much just slept and lounged around the whole afternoon. It was good to be back home. Which brings me to today! Greg is once again back at work, but Rocky and I have had a classic weekend day, complete with our 3.5 mile walk (Groton friends who visited me, you know the one!). 

Tomorrow, I have an ultrasound appointment at 9 AM. I'm now over 22 weeks pregnant, which means I'm over the halfway point! Crazy. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll find out if it's a boy or a girl. Since the appointment is just in the Radiology dept and the doctor won't be there, I'm not sure if I will. I have a follow up doctor's appointment on Thursday, so hopefully I'll find out then at the latest. Either way, I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, please say a little prayer that Baby Gehring is healthy and happy (and that his/her kicks are happy kicks, not angry ones!). 

Hope you enjoyed my update - thanks again for taking the time to keep up to date on our adventure! 

Update - Mem Day

Hi friends! Sorry it's been forever since I've updated - I know that's against the new blog rules I set for myself awhile ago :). Things have been busy around here, so I'm going to update you step by step. 

Right after my last post, Greg, Rocky, and I headed East to Arizona, where we had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. The first few days we were there were overcast, which has actually happened to us during the past few AZ trips we've taken. Because of this, we spent the first day on a window shopping trip, going first to a few car dealers (we're pondering trading in Greg's Passat for a used SUV...baby, Rocky, and all of their respective stuff will not fit in the measly backseat of either of our cars alone!). It was an interesting experience. I, like most people, hate going to dealerships, but the tone and desperation of the salesman has definitely skyrocketed since I bought my Prius back in '07. 

After learning a bit about cars, we headed over to Babies R Us, which was our first baby gear experience. We were totally overwhelmed by all of the things there! Imagine if there were a Weddings R Us - it's like that. Every aspect of baby life in one huge store, and if you are a first time parent, it's crazy. It was worth it, though - I love seeing Greg's face light up every time he sees a cute picture of a baby - it makes me realize what a great dad he's going to be! 

After our informational shopping day on Friday, we spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the sunny, warm weather. We went on many golf course walks with Rockstar, as well as morning walks/runs (I walked - Greg is trying to get back into his running routine). Arizona is always relaxing and fun. 

We headed back to California on Memorial Day Monday. We probably won't get back to AZ until Labor Day, so it was sad to leave. Still, a year into our CA stint, it was nice to be back home.