Visiting Houston



To round out his hitch home, it was finally time to visit the family in Houston [the last weekend in September/first in October]. Originally, we were going to break the news to everybody on this trip, but I just couldn't wait. Besides, I would have already been 11 weeks along and I wanted to bask in this happiness with family and friends as long as possible!



Heading to H town!

Wearing this shirt that Regan and Flo got for me!

We flew in late on a Wednesday night. I wasn't expecting it, but I should have known both mom and dad would be waiting as we walked out of the secure gate area. Cue tears. Mom came up and hugged me hard and I held her tight. At this point in my pregnancy, I still had no physical signs of pregnancy, I hadn't experienced any symptoms (thankfully, and knock on wood...), and had we not just had an ultrasound a couple weeks prior, I still wouldn't have believed it was true. That being said, just knowing that I was starting my journey of motherhood gave me some inexplicable, instant bond with my mom, deeper than I could have ever imagined.

Chloe came along on this trip (whyyy don't they have frequent flier miles for dogs? It's a hard pill to swallow when her 'ticket' is sometimes more than mine, and she counts as one of my carry-ons, and she has to travel in her duffel bag under the seat in front of me!). So after a bit of an emotional moment, mom took Chloe, we got our luggage and headed for the house.

Expert traveler, right there.

One of my favorite things about Houston, besides family (of course), is the food and culture! Mom and Dad were able to take Thursday off, so we went to our favorite Carniceria in Deer Park for breakfast tacos and the Greek Festival that evening for dinner and entertainment.

Thursday night, Mom and Eric were extremely agreeable as we took like a million options for the 'pregnancy announcement' for the good ol' world wide web. We had a few ideas floating around, but ended up just keeping it simple. I think it was perfect for us!






ummm.... one more?

...maybe a few more...

We love to travel, but that's just too busy....

Yes!! Simple, perfect. Winner!!
(Thanks, Auntie Brooke for baby's first AND the most precious onesie!)

_______________________________




Friday was a great day-we got to meet and spend time with our first nephew, Mr. Gunner Dean! Mom went with and stayed a few hours so we got to catch up with Vicki, hear the birth stories, and oogle and google at this sweet boy.

Sweet baby, 5 days young!

Pimpin' that onesie Auntie Mar custom made!

Snuggled up to Uncle Eric!

It will be so fun having a cousin so close in age to our little one! I loved growing up with so many cousins!


_______________________________




Saturday was great with my in-laws. Sharon and I ran errands, visited some antique shops and dropped by to see Gunner again. That night we had an early birthday dinner for Sharon with Wombat. Perry's steakhouse has never disappointed!

Like woah. We didn't get a photo of the four of us at dinner, but I sure remembered to take one of this bread pudding with a homemade marshmallow. The marshmallow was the size of my fist and so wonderfully delicious!

Our last night together this hitch. Chloe and I relaxed while Daddy was packing up his stuff. Last night is always the worst night, but I did have a fully tummy and was laying in bed so I mustered a smile ;) [Can you find camouflaged Chloe?!]

_______________________________




After dropping Eric off at the airport Sunday morning, I headed back to my parents to watch the Texans (lose) and hang out with more of the extended family. I finally got to see my grandma for the first time after telling her the baby news. At one point, she was standing there looking at me, saying, "Ay Marissa," (in her Spanish accent) "I can already tell you're pregnant!" and she walks over to feel my 'belly.' Please note, at this point, I literally had not gained an ounce of weight, and was in fact still in my 'skinny/in-shape' wardrobe. Thanks, Ma. :) [You know, I've got clothes that range 3 sizes at all times in the closet--in shape, standard, holiday time]

MMMMmenudo! So, I half-joked that I would love to have some delicious menudo at my parents after I dropped Eric off... Any other time they would have laughed, this time, it was for their grandbaby. I could get used to this....

Family <3

It was a whirlwind of a month that we got to spend with so many people we love. While I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed 7 consecutive nights, I have 3 of the 4 weekends booked while Eric is offshore. I love my non-stop life!


Not-even-close-to-showing,
xoxo,
Marissa

Weddings and Tacos

The following weekend (so this is the third weekend of travel in a row), we were en route to Austin to celebrate Eric's cousin's wedding. We had a great time celebrating their love and 7+ year courtship. I must give it to Jared, our cousin and the groom's younger brother, he had quite the original and catchy best-man speech. The theme: A world without Jordan and Ashley. Turns out a world without Jordan and Ashley is a world without iphones, as the year they started dating was the year the first iphone came out! He did such a great job!

My handsome date <3

2 1/2 months preggo!

Eric and his Oma :) 

Sweet Oma. I just adore this woman!

Such a fun farewell idea with streamers!

The night was almost a complete success. Again, I drove. So on our way back to the hotel, with a husband feeling no pain and cousins too young to drink in tow, I asked if anyone was hungry. "Nooo, I'm good; nah, I ate enough; I'm just tired," sums us the responses. So I used a preggo card and said, ok, I need a snack, I'm driving and all I want is one bean burrito with no onions from Taco Bell so we are going to swing through the drive through. I specifically order a bean burrito, no onions, and tell the guy that the burrito is the most important piece to the order because it's for the pregnant lady.... then, about 15+ additional tacos later, we head back (but nobody wanted to stop...right).

We get to the hotel and I was talking to some relatives about my pregnancy thus far while Eric and the girls started eating. I finished up my convo, mouth watering, tummy aching for the savory taste of just one bean burrito, no onions and 2 packs of fire sauce...only to find that there was just a beef burrito left. Beef. Eric ordered a beef burrito. I ordered a bean burrito, no onions. Guess what happened. There was no beef or onions in the burrito he ate. If he wasn't in a typical post-wedding condition, I would have made him drive back to Taco Bell and spend $1.09 for my burrito. Instead, I'm keeping that night in my back pocket for something real good. (He offered me his beef burrito...fully equipped with finely chopped onions that you cannot effectively remove.)

Maybe that was my first craving, maybe it was just because I was annoyed that he ate it. In general though, no real cravings and no crazy pregnancy symptoms such as nausea or vomiting so far. I've become a napping champion, though! Give me 30 minutes and I'll give you a 29 minute nap!

Sleeping while I still can,
xoxo,
Marissa

Two for Two

I hated to do it, but my parents weren't the first ones to find out babyzilla. We went on a Thursday to the doctor to confirm pregnancy, cry during our first ultrasound (well, I did, anyway) and sit for 5 vials of blood to be drawn. The very next day, I was on a flight to Austin, so that I could drive to New Braunfels to celebrate Brooke's bachelorette party! #marryingmorales

Before everyone arrived, we had a mini party on the balcony!

I was about the 4th one to arrive for the weekend, so I walked out to meet Brooke and the girls at the pool. Of course, the first question was, do you want beer or champagne?? The "I'm on a strict no-alcohol diet" was not going to cut it becuase, let's be honest, I would always break that for a weekend with the girls, so I folded fast. (Of course) I started tearing up before I could even say the words, but I showed Brooke the ultrasound and said, well.... I won't be drinking for a while!

So Brooke and the ladies on the trip were the first to know, but I was a victim of circumstance and we carried out the charade in pics of beer-in-hand, partying like a rockstar ;)

"Floatin' the river, killin' our liver!" But really, I was hydrating, 8 weeks in.

Guess who drove...

I was very happy to be the designated driver this trip as I was able to confirm that I definitely look good in a Jeep and a Jeep looks good on me... :) Notice the GoPro capturing all these special moments!

Group shot!

So tricky, with the bride-to-be ;)

-----------------------------------------

The very next weekend, our first weekend away together as an expectant couple was to Eric's hometown, to do some work with our feeder company. [shameless plug: www.platinumfeeders.com for all your feeder needs!] We now split ownership with just one other person, so we needed to get to the shop to dig through papers and try to get everything on track for a successful, profitable business. The company has faced several hurdles throughout the multiple exchanges of ownership over the last 10+ years, but we have a lot of confidence in the product and a big vision for the future!

Eric and Adam were in the shop nearly sun up to sun down, but we did sneak away a few times. We made it to our cousin Tanna's high school volleyball game and out to dinner with the fam (at Mamacitas, per usual). I snuck off Saturday to go to another cousin's (Allie) soccer game and spent some time hanging out with my MIL. I just couldn't cut it, I had to work in a few naps that weekend, as the little velociraptor was sucking all the energy from me!

We'll make it over to Jim and Julie's at least once while we're in town, so late Friday night we had some drinks and great conversation. It's still so hard for me to comprehend, but right in the front yard of our family's homes we will almost always see deer at night. So of course, we had to feed them!

When I first went home with Eric a million years ago, he told me about a time when he was in high school and shot a deer out of his kitchen window. He called mom, who called the school to excuse him that day. He had to stay home and skin and clean the deer. Obv. (Whaaaaaat???? Sooooo weird to me!!)

Eric has 4 weekends home. He went to Midland/Kerrville while I was in New Braunfels and back to Kerrville again with me. Two weekend, two trips. Two more weekends coming up, two more trips planned...

Road warrior-ing,
xoxo,
Marissa