Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

We were planning to go to the Taste of Minnesota today, but now it sounds like we will be going to a get-together in Apple Valley, instead. Volleyball and grilling. So, that will be fun and we can hit the Taste later on in the weekend. As long as I can see some fireworks this year, I will be happy.

As predicted, one of my coworkers called in "sick" yesterday and so the rest of us needed to pick up the slack for her. She was out the day before with a sore throat and yesterday, it had continued, so she couldn't come in.

She must have an allergy to holiday weekends, because it never fails: she calls in sick either before or after every single holiday.

She used to use her kid for an excuse, but now he's old enough to stay home by himself when he's sick, so her excuses are getting more and more interesting.

Memorial Day? She had to leave that Friday by 1:00, because the dog she was watching for a friend had to go to the vet and that was the only time she could get it in for an appointment--and then the following Tuesday? She had a headache she couldn't get rid of. Right. Sorry, but if a dog is that sick that you need to make an emergency appointment? You don't come to work first--especially when you have a 20-minute drive one-way. And if you're pet-sitting for a friend? You're probably not going to take it to the vet unscheduled in the first place.

I am curious as to whether my manager has picked up on it. Probably not.

I am thinking that I will need to invest in some summer maternity clothes sometime soon. I hesitate to say that I am showing just yet (because every time I think that I am, a few days go by and I change my mind), but I think I will be within the next few weeks. I have another OB appointment on Monday (hopefully I won't be running late this time!), so I'm anxious for that. The time since my last appointment has just flown by--I have no idea where the last month went to!

Peanut has been quieter the past few days. I'm thinking that it's more that I'm not noticing the kicks and swats as much, though. Like I'm getting more accustomed to it happening, because when I pay attention, I notice! He is kicking higher now--like above my belly button. It's so weird. He likes to keep the kicks for me, though. Sugam was trying to feel him last night and while he had been kicking away before that, he pretty much just rolled over (Sugam could feel that) and then stopped.

And then once Sugam left? He started kicking again. :)

Stubborn child, Peanut is.

For now, I'm thinking that breakfast is sounding good. What to make, what to make...

So, we had our Level II ultrasound and Fetal ECHO (to look for congenital heart defects) Wednesday and...

I'm proud to announce that we're having a BOY!

The machine that the hospital uses for the ECHO exam was broken, so they had us go to a different hospital. Fortunately for us, it was just across the river from the hospital we were at and they could get us in same-day.

The hospital where we ended up going for the ECHO was where my nephew Luke had stayed for the majority (save two weeks) of his life, so the doctors and nurses who helped us had also worked with him and know my brother and sister-in-law very well, so it was reassuring that they were taking the issues that my nephew had into account when checking our baby.

They were able to rule out major issues, so I was very relieved about that. We will still need to make sure that the delivering doctor checks the baby's heart when he is born to check for small holes, because the ultrasound equipment couldn't pick that up, but I feel so much better knowing that we shouldn't run into major complications.

And...a BOY! I was so surprised! I honestly had thought that we would be having a girl after our last OB appointment. I'm really excited. Now, we'll need to narrow down some names and pick out a few special boy outfits. :)

If you're on my friends and family list on Flickr, I have a bunch of ultrasound pics uploaded, including the "It's a Boy!" one. :)

My niece was born today! My brother and sister-in-law had planned originally to have her scheduled c-section yesterday, but then opted to move it out to the tenth, so that she would have more time to develop.

But...she came today! She was born just over two hours ago! She has a full head of hair and the same full, "puppy" cheeks like Luke had.

Welcome to the world, Arianna Marie!

We're hoping to be able to travel to Seattle sometime this summer. We were planning to go over the July 4th long weekend, but now, it sounds like we will be traveling over Labor Day weekend, instead.

Sugam's cousin and her husband just relocated from Minneapolis to Seattle, where the husband took a job with Microsoft. It will be fun to explore the city with them, being that they will not have lived there long enough to have seen everything just yet. Plus, neither Sugam or myself have been there, before, so it would be so cool to see a different part of the country.

We were thinking to fly into Seattle, spend a few days there and somewhere along the line, drive up the coast and spend a day or two in Vancouver. Sugam has some aunties in Vancouver who weren't able to attend our wedding, so it would be kind of cool to drop in on them and say hello. Plus, it looks like it would be a nice drive in-between and now that I have my passport and he has his green card, we should be set!

I'll have to ask my doctor, of course, because I will be just ending my seventh month (30 to 31 weeks) of pregnancy, but I think it should be okay.

(I will totally have to ask for a seatbelt extender by that point, huh?)

We're finding out the baby's gender in only a week and a half! And I'm still not showing. My waist looks a little bigger, but definitely not what I would suggest as "looking pregnant."

Add to that that TWO women have poked my tummy in the past week. One to say that she thought I was showing and the second, almost a week later, to say that I should be gaining weight, not losing it. The second poked after I told her I was almost 19 weeks along--it was like she couldn't believe it.

Seriously, though. Why do people allow themselves to poke freely, just because you happen to be pregnant? I'm not even showing, yet, I can't imagine how awkward it will be once I am. Shudder.

It's amazing how quickly time can pass by between updates.

We found out the first of March (but I had suspected earlier than that) that we will be having a baby. I'm still not showing, which is both a blessing and a curse, and the baby is due just before Halloween.

In general, I strongly dislike Halloween, so I'm hoping the baby decides to come before then.

So life, today, has been focused on adjusting our life as a twosome to how different things will be as a family. I am excited to see our little biracial baby and see whose characteristics he/she takes after. I have also decided in my head (which probably means that I am wrong) that we will be having a little girl, so when I write he/she, I'm generally thinking "she." I have felt really good through my pregnancy and aside from one night at the ER, things have been progressing swimmingly.

My paper journaling sort of dropped off since returning from Nepal, but after I finished that book and moved onto the next, I am writing much more. It's amazing the energy that a new book can provide. Even if it is the same style as the last journal (a Moleskine, of course), so it shouldn't feel like much of a change at all. I think I like the idea of being able to reflect in private, as compared to writing online to an audience.

I have been spending a lot less time online, in general, actually. (Unless you count flickr, because I'm on there like a mofo! But not posting anything, as odd as that is.) The internet gets boring every now and then--I think time away helps to make it more exciting. Kind of like taking a break in a relationship.

We took a short trip yesterday outside of Kathmandu to Patin, which is like St. Paul to Minneapolis, just across the river. We went to the palace square there, which was a welcome change from how crowded and congested it is in Kathmandu. We were able to take lots of pictures of the different temples.

The palace was converted into a museum. The ceilings and doorways are very short. Even I needed to duck through the doorways, which were a step up and about five feet tall!

We had tea and mo-mo's (meat stuffed dumplings--buffalo!) at a restaurant that overlooked the square. It was good for people watching. Then, we walked a few blocks to an aunt's house and visited with her, her husband and daughter for a few hours.

Today, it is cold outside. It rained last night, so it is wet. I thought that the rain would clear away some of the pollution, so we could see the mountains, but no such luck! Maybe tomorrow will be better!

Tonight, we are planning to meet up with another aunt and uncle at one of the restaurants that Sugam's cousin owns in Kathmandu. That should be fun. He came and visited us at our apartment last winter and he was all interested in the ambiance of American restaurants, so I'm curious to see what one of his restaurants will be like.

Well, lunch is ready, so I better scoot.

We ended up staying home during the day on the 15th, which was fine with me, as it was good to rest up.

We went to see the Monkey Temple yesterday. It was WAY on top of a high hill. (We took the easy way up, which basically dropped us with only a quarter of the hill left, thank goodness.) On a clear day, you would have been able to see all of Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding mountains, but it was smoggy, so we took blurry pictures of the city.

There were lots of wild monkeys roaming around. I did not take too many pictures of them, because Sugam said that they sometimes attack people. Apparently, they are used to tourists feeding them, so they will lunge at peoples' bags and backpacks. I was wearing my backpack, so was a little leery about getting too close!

We took a super steep set of steps back down the hill. The steps were really narrow (my feet hung about two and a half inches over where the step ended), on top of being steep and the footing was uneven. The stones that made up the steps were very smooth, too, so I was thankful that it wasn't raining, otherwise I'm sure I would have lost my footing and tumbled the whole way down!

We went to the old palace square after that. I kept my head covered during part of it, so that the merchants and beggars wouldn't bother me. There are a lot of beggars looking for money from tourists and they're a real pain!

Later that night, we stopped in to visit a family friend's gathering. It was similar to a lunch following a funeral in our culture. We had dinner plans that night, so we did not stay long, just there long enough to make an appearance. Then, we went to the really touristy part of Kathmandu, an area called Thamel, and had dinner with some of Sugam's friends that he grew up with. We went to a nice restaurant with fireplaces for each of the tables (it was good to be warm!) and then, after that, went to a bar and listened to a cover band. It was a nice night and I slept well.

Today, I'm not sure what the plans will be. We just finished lunch, so we'll probably be heading out this afternoon.

The party went well last night. I was able to wear traditional Nepali dress and Sugam's aunt and cousins helped me to get ready. Sugam's aunt's sister-in-law is a beautician, so she did my hair and make-up, which turned out very well. Outside of my blond hair, I looked very Nepali bride and I received several compliments, as did the rest of the family for how pretty I looked.

There were around 300 people at the reception, so there were lots of people to meet. They were all very friendly and anxious to hear about how I liked Nepal. I met several of Sugam's friends from when he grew up, cousins, aunts and uncles and "grandmas" (one grandma and several great aunts.) We had went to visit a great-aunt who was bed-ridden yesterday, she was 94 years old.

Today, there will be a "welcome to the family" ceremony. We had one for Sugam's dad's side Friday night and Sugam's mom's side will be coming today. I'm glad that I did not take my hair down from last night. It will make getting ready easier.

We received lots of gifts from the wedding. Mostly pashmina shawls, for me. Sugam was mentioning selling some of them on eBay, because there is no way I will be able to wear them all!

I will try to follow-up with a picture or two from the event. Our camera's connection cord is at home (I remembered the charger, but not the cord to connect to the computer to download) so we should receive some pics from others to share.