Pre-Baby Travels

With Baby T due to arrive in less than seven weeks, we recently took a few weekend trips to tide us over until we can travel again after he arrives.  We're hoping that our travels during pregnancy will help the travel bug rub off on our little guy :)

First, at the beginning of July, Bridget and her mom went on a pre-baby weekend away to Branson.  Much like a bachelorette party, Brad dubbed this Bridget's "baby-ette weekend."  The girls had a great time in Branson, complete with a spa day at their hotel (Chateau on the Lake), dinner at The Landing, lots of outlet shopping (mostly for Baby T), visiting with friends (including the Hoenes and Shifletts), dinner at Great Cedar Lodge, lots of candy and fudge, hanging out by the pool, and a trip to the drive-thru animal safari in Springfield.  Yes, you read the last part correctly.  Since Bridget is such an animal lover, she requested to relive one of her favorite childhood memories by visiting the animal park.  Although the walking part was a bit depressing with all of the animals in their cages in the heat, the drive-thru part was exactly how she remembered it - fun and funny! Brenda and Bridget especially enjoyed the emus, which made them feel like they were in Jurassic Park.  Also memorable were the zebras who wouldn't get their heads out of the car, the cow who slobbered all over the car windows, the camel that stuck his head through the sun roof, and the hoards of llamas.  It was a fantastic weekend and Bridget is very grateful to her mom for all of the fun memories!

The view from the hotel room...

The pool overlooking Table Rock Lake...

Bump at the pool...if you think it looks big here, just wait until the end of this post...

Out and about in Branson...at The Landing...

Strange, but not uncommon, sights on the strip...

The hotel...

The animal park...this bear reminded Bridget of Penny...

Can you see the fear in Bridget's eyes??

Of course, with Bridget out of town, Brad sat around the house crying :)  Kidding, of course!  He kept himself busy by putting together the crib and hanging out with Bob, including a trip to Manifesto.  Then, on the following Monday, Brad started his new job!!  He joined the law firm of Seigfreid, Bingham, Levy, Selzer and Gee, and we couldn't be more thrilled!  He'll continue to practice litigation there, including employment litigation, and we're excited that the firm is located downtown so that we can continue to have lunch dates, especially after Baby T is born.

Then, in mid-July, we were thrilled to visit our good friends, Cole and Jenny, in Nashville!  It was a great weekend with lots of lounging at the Icon and the pool, good food and drinks, exploring Nashville, touring Cole and Jenny's new place (including the "study"), a whiskey tour and tasting (smelling for Bridget), hanging out at Jenny's favorite honky tonk, a visit to one of Bob's favorite places (The Patterson House), late night impromptu karaoke (songs of choice for Brad and Cole: Private Eyes and All of the Lights...props were necessary and, of course, hilarious!), and great conversation and catching up.  Both Jenny and Cole were incredible hosts - we especially enjoyed the "Sorry We Party...in Nashville" CD and homemade cookies and bread!  We're looking forward to more visits to Nashville to spend time with the Gustafsons...that's right...a few weeks after our visit, Cole popped the question and Jenny said yes!!  We could not be more excited for the happy couple!!!

Getting ready to head out in Nashville...

View of the city from the pool deck at the Icon...

Just the three of us...

Only these two could successfully rock the towel skirts...

Tasting at the distillery tour...

Pregnant lady at the bar :)

At the honky tonk...

At the famous Patterson House, where we had great drinks and every dessert on the menu...that's what happens when you take Cole and pregnant Bridget out on the town...

In between trips, we celebrated Penny's first birthday!  We can't believe she's already a year old (or seven, in dog years)!  Here she is enjoying her birthday bone :)

Finally, a few weeks ago, we went on our babymoon to Scottsdale, Arizona, for some relaxation prior to Baby T's arrival.  We spent a long weekend at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and enjoyed more lounging by the pool (do you see a pattern here?), sleeping in, great Mexican food at La Hacienda, golfing for Brad, and a spa day for Bridget (and baby boy Thoenen).  We enjoyed this last getaway weekend before our little guy arrives, but we couldn't help thinking of how much fun it will be to take him with us on future trips!

Hanging out at the pool...can't believe the size of that bump!!

The courtyard outside our room...

First night out to dinner at La Hacienda...

Bridget lounging at the spa pool...

Brad's morning at the golf course...

Another day of sunbathing and swimming...

Posing in front of the golf course...

Out to dinner at La Hacienda again...yes, it was that good!

Cacti!

Brad dubbed this cactus "Baby T" :)

Our favorite bar...even though it was never open...we want something similar in our next home...

In addition to traveling, things have been going well!  We've been nesting like crazy and trying to get the house ready for its new tenant.  We started taking childbirth and other baby classes a few weeks ago.  Brad is settling into his new job and Bridget is trying to prepare for maternity leave and part-time employment thereafter.  Bridget had her baby shower last weekend (stay tuned for a post on the shower) and we have a co-ed shower in September - we're really looking forward to filling Baby T's room.  Bridget has now started seeing the doctor every two weeks on a routine basis and we have an ultrasound scheduled in mid-September.  Baby T seems to be growing right on schedule, and we both love feeling him move around in Bridget's belly, including his frequent hiccups.  When we look at the calendar now, we're constantly shocked and excited at how close his due date is getting, especially since babies tend to arrive on their own schedule.  Now that the weather is cooling off and Halloween seems to be right around the corner (based on the candy aisle at the grocery store!), we find ourselves counting down the days, but also considering that those days could be even less (or more) depending on when this little guy decides to make his debut!  We're taking bets on his arrival date, so feel free to wager a guess :)