On Saturday, Ryan and I walked in the March of Dimes’ March for Babies along w/ 11 other Stroller Strides Modesto teammates.  The weather was beautiful (not nearly as hot as last year!), and everyone was in really good spirits.  As a team, we managed to raise over $2000.  I was able to contribute $550, thanks to many generous donations from family and friends.  Thanks so much to those of you who participated financially!  The actual walking part was much more difficult than I imagined it would be as a pregnant lady.  My mother and I typically keep a very quick walking pace (although hers is even quicker than mine) because we’ve learned to keep up with taller people our whole lives.  But I couldn’t keep up with her, and eventually had to stop and take a break for a few minutes.  Luckily I had packed some Goldfish crackers for a snack, and there were booths with healthy nibbles like orange slices along the way that helped keep my energy up.  With a MUCH slower pace, we finished the walk and celebrated with hotdogs and chili.  We also earned third place in the t-shirt contest with our slogan “Team Stroller Strides Modesto: Striding Toward a Cure in 2008.”

In other news, tomorrow marks 20 weeks for this pregnancy… the half-way point!   I have to say that once I passed the morning sickness stage, I’ve been relatively lucky.  Other than being very tired and learning (the hard way) that I need to slow down and take life a little easier, I haven’t suffered from the majority of common pregnancy complaints (heartburn, etc.)… yet, anyway!  From this point on, however, life gets reeeeeeeaaalllly interesting – and BUSY!  Our next appointment is scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow (May 13th) where we’re hoping Baby will cooperate enough to let us know if he’s a he, or she’s a she.  I’ve already been feeling little movements, and it’s a pretty fun reminder that there’s actually someone hanging out in there!  Ryan has one more international trip before our doctor’s appointment, and after the appointment, we get to spend a week in Cabo San Lucas… our “last big hurrah” before Baby.  June is equally crazy with three baby showers, a billion birthdays to celebrate, and the wedding of Ryan’s sister.  Then, shortly after that, we pack up the moving truck and head east.  In my “free time” I”ll be sorting through everything we own to purge as much as we possibly can before the move.  Then it all needs to be packed.  Should be an interesting process, but it’ll be rewarding in the end to have cleaned everything out beforehand… no sense in moving junk we don’t want!

Garage sale, here we come!

For the second year in a row, I’m excited about taking part in Modesto’s March for Babies (formerly WalkAmerica). The March of Dimes works hard to research the causes and cures for premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality. The hope is that someday, all babies will be born healthy. Of course, with our three losses, this is a cause that really hits home for us… we couldn’t help but to get involved.

We had no idea what to expect last year, since we’d never done it before. I put together a small team: Stroller Strides Modesto, and every team member worked really hard to raise donations for the cause. The weather was beautiful, and I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up and walked together throughout Modesto. I was also asked to lead the warm-ups, which was an interesting experience to say the least. This year, I’m hoping to have an even bigger team… we’re off to a great start already.