week 33 - tricycle parts

Week 33 and baby kiwi is around 17 inches long- which just happens to be the distance between the tricycle handlebars. Or the back wheels... you take your pick. They're both a biiiit of a stretch. And, of course, Fraser noticed how preposterous his mama looked on the trike, tromped over, and completely out-shone my efforts.

Yes, child. You look cuter than me on a trike... WE GET IT!

Let's talk VEGAS BABY! If you recall, Carlynne and I post-poned our 30th birthday until we could be together in Vegas with Celine Dion. That was supposed to happen on February 22nd. However... CELINE CANCELLED (dang flu, and yes... there may have been a few tears shed)!! We still went to Vegas and made the most of it, but I guess this means we'll still be 29 for a while longer. And let me remind you that this is our SECOND failed attempt at seeing Celine together. Granted, the first time was my fault (I got a job in NZ in 2008 that started before the concert date so we had to bail), but still... tres disappointing. One day, I tell you... ONE DAY. It WILL happen. Mark. my. words.

Despite missing Celine, Lowell, Carlynne and I still had a great time in Vegas (sadly, Daniel was unable to join us because he has a huge-o massive medical exam coming right up and he admittedly would have been a distracted basketcase). So let's start at the beginning shall we?

Fraser was a little hesitant for us to leave. He demonstrated this by holding our luggage hostage...

After dropping Fraser off with Nana, Papa and Auntie Shareen, Lowell and I began our journey. After a sleepy little airport wait, we headed to our hotel with Carlynne at about 1am, and fell asleep the instant our heads hit the pillows.

And now let's do Vegas Lowell, Carlynne and Julie style. Starting with a buffet breakfast and exploring  the big bad streets of Vegas...

(Apparently this is the closest we would get to Celine. Sad!)

We walked through hotels (and inevitably, casinos), took in a fashion show at the mall, ate delicious food, hit up the north (outdoor) outlet mall, drank coffee while people watching, and acknowledged the OBSENE AMOUNTS of attention my ginormous preggo belly received. Seriously, you would think these people had never seen a pregnant woman before. I got everything from "@#$%^ &*$%# you're an f@#$ing BASKETBALL! Go long Lebron!" to compliments, congratulations, giving up seats for me, and shoving me to the front of bathroom lines. My protruding belly also got us out of some of the naked women cards that are forcibly passed on the streets of Vegas. One guy held one out to Lowell, noticed my belly, then rescinded the card while very loudly announcing, "Oh, you already be making love, brother! You been makin LOTS of love! Babies everywhere! It's too late for you!"

The highlight of our trip was Le Reve (in lieu of Celine). It. was. amazing. You should just google it if you don't know what I'm talking about. Lowell took some pre-show shots of Carlynne and I clearly having a riveting and hilarious conversation...

Lowell also captured some great shots of the show. Emphasis on SOME (not a dig at Lowell's photography skills but rather a comment on the crazy number of things that were involved with this show). This is only a teeny tiny glimpse of the incredible demonstration of athleticism we witnessed.

Another highlight was Serendipity at Caesar's Palace where we had ourselves some luxurious breakfast. Mine looked more like a black forest cake, but it was indeed breakfast: a triple stack of chocolate french toast with whipped cream, strawberries, and pistachios.

Mmmmm.... excuse me while I grab a tissue to remove the drool from my keyboard.

Our fave hotels were the Wynn and the Venetian. So fancy! This is the Venetian... INSIDE (deceivingly)...

At the Bellagio, the fountains did an impressive dance to Elton John music...

Before we knew it, our two full days together were over. But don't worry- we didn't leave without snapping some twin preggas in Vegas shots (mostly emphasizing how ludicrously large I am compared to Carlynne who's due only 7 weeks after me). Carlynne at 25 weeks, me at 32 weeks...

Ya ya ya, I know this is my SECOND pregnancy AND I have a cyst, but come on now... really? I KNOW I was bigger than that when I was 25 weeks with Fraser! See??!! This is me at 25 weeks with the Frase man...

Buh-bye Carlynne!

After Carlynne left, Lowell and I had a few more hours to kill, so we went to Caesar's Palace to scout out the Celine store. I just had to give Celine a kiss (despite being a little disgruntled with her)...

I also bought a Celine luggage tag because hey- I didn't have a luggage tag, and it was also pretty much the cheapest souvenir available.

Our final activity in Vegas was- you guessed it- GAMBLING! Well, we were given $50 to try (and the idea was that we would then be hooked and gamble all our money away). It took us like 10 minutes to figure out the silly machine, and then we couldn't make the money go away fast enough. The whole smokey casino scene isn't really our thing (as evidenced by the totally impressed look on this Addiction Counselor's face hehe)...

It was verrrry interesting witnessing the whole casino/gambling/Vegas culture, though. What a fun trip with my sissie!

We didn't arrive home until late late late (like, 2am Monday morning), but we were still up bright and early so Lowell could head to work, and I could go get Fraser. It was a happy reunion indeed! Man I missed that kid. It nearly killed me being away from him for that long. I knew he was in wonderfully loving, familiar, and capable hands (cuz let's be honest... I turned out awesome), but I sure missed the goofy little tyke. Speaking of him, let me update you quick...

Fraser has developed some hilariously quirky little habits. His squinty eyes, fake smile, "CHEESE" when we pull out the camera, and the peg leg walk. Oh the peg leg walk. We had no clue where it came from until I was limping/ambling my pregnant self down the hall, and I looked back to see Fraser doing his exaggerated peg leg limp walk behind me. I'm 99.9% sure the kid is mocking me!

Also... he is a quick moving, climbing, chatty, 18-toothed ham bone who constantly has us in stitches (laughing). We also may be the worst parents on the face of the earth as his latest trick is making a farting sound with his mouth when we ask "What does a toot say?" He'll then respond with "Bum!" when we ask "Where does a toot come from?" Lowell defends our parenting practises by insisting that it's leading to early potty training. "What follows a toot?" "Poop!""And where do you go when you poop?" "Potty!" Sure then. Good enough for me!

While we were in Vegas, my parents and Shareen tried the trick and asked "What does a toot say?" Fraser looked directly at them and FARTED FOR REAL! Oh that boy does my heart proud.

February's Project 365 pictures as well as puppy pictures from our whirlwind Carstairs trip will just have to wait. Cheerio for now!

PS- DON'T FORGET TO ENTER A GUESS IN BABY PREDICTION CONTEST 2.0 FOR A CHANCE TO WIN $50 TO WHATEVER/WHEREVER!!