danger zone!

Went to the doctor today and she said, "...you're past the danger zone now so if the little one were to come tomorrow, we wouldn't stop it..." WHAT?? So crazy!! The next time I go to the doc is in 2 weeks and from there on out I go every week because it's getting closer and closer to go time. Good thing this weekend Josh and I had a baby shopping extravaganza!! A mattress for the crib was delivered this morning, baby clothes have been washed, diaper pail in place, the room has been somewhat organized, and we're nearly there. Holy. Cow.

These days Josh is OBSESSED with touching my belly. He loves it. And he's decided we need to document it because it's gotten bigger... a lot bigger... so more pics to come soon.

Proof!

Here's the evidence! The Benson's all came together and here's the proof!

shower power!

This past weekend my family came into town and we had a little vacay in Santa Cruz. Lots of lounging on the deck, food, drinks, and laughing. On Saturday we had a little baby shower at the vacation house with some of our friends. It was SO WONDERFUL to have all these people that we love and hold near and dear to us in one place... kinda like a mini-wedding minus the dress and the stress... and plus a big belly...

Here are some stolen facebook pics (thanks Joanna and Sarah) of the event and when we have time to catch up from the whirlwind weekend that the Bensons whipped up, we'll post our own...

Sarah and the belly... er, I mean, me...

Diaper cake from the Barrys... too wonderful!

Some of the ladies...

This is my mother in full-on competition mode.... she HAS to win or someone will pay... Name that Tune has never been so intense...

Team Men... Looking cool, calm, and collected under pressure.

Love these three...

Lovely Sam...

Food, beer, and the sun... can it get any better??

Time to eat!

Time to drink! Dad never let a cup go empty...

One of the many wonderful gifts we got -- the halfsie. Half American, half Canadian. Love love love.

More pics to come!

spring has sprung!

It's in the 70s this week... and light until at least 7PM... hello, wonderful!!

My parents, brothers, and their girlfriends are all coming to town this week - the last time we were all together was freaking Thanksgiving 2007?? Maybe that's not right. Either way - it's been too long.

Baby shower this weekend = family, friends, food, Santa Cruz, and Buttery Cupcakes... these are a few of my favorite things.

Baby gear is coming together! We have a crib, chair, and dresser for the nursery. Still need a bookshelf of sorts and some wall decor (ps - do you not love this??!)- but I think all the other items can be found somewhere in our house and used in baby's room....

I had a lovely pedicure this morning and my toes are so fresh and springy!!

No wonder so many animals have their babies in the spring - what a fun time!

Lil Lop is like our Lil Lamb!

mission: accomplished.... kinda...

This story is best visualized with intense Jason Bourne music in the background with editing to match. Picture: fast, close, cropped in images of all the characters and hand-held camera kinda feel... here we go. Get ready.

10:31:04... I get a text from a Miss Carr. "you should check your facebook" Obviously this must be important and clearly really personal since it's posted on FB for all to see.

10:31:11... I check FB and see "Ashton Kutcher is across the street from you at eBay. Right now. You should go walk around the campus and find him" Now. I just so happen to be working from home today... and eBay just so happens to literally be across the street from our house. So, sitting in my pajamas watching Hoda and Kathy Lee on the Today Show (don't judge) - I laugh at the idea and then think... hmmm. That could be fun. Hell. Why not?

10:42:44... I'm out the door. In work-out attire. Phone in hand. I stroll over to eBay and realize - holy crap. There are like 40 buildings that make up the eBay campus... so I circle around the campus and just end at the main entrance. I mean. Why not?

10:58:00... Sitting on the corner of a flower bed, I act like a 5th grader with a plastic cell phone and pretend to talk on my phone. Yep. Pathetic. I tell myself, I'm giving this 7 minutes and then I'm out. Afterall - I have no idea if he's even still here or if he's in a meeting that will last until 4PM!

11:01:32... The main door opens and a familiar voice says "Thanks again..." and as I turn I see a handsome man, sans trucker hat...

There he was. Ashton in the flesh. I then decide it's time to wrap up my fake conversation (which apparently I was having with someone who worked at eBay about them being late for lunch... which is obviously why I was sitting outside the main doors by myself. Smooth, Audrey. Smooth)... I get up to "stand in the sun"... which just so happened to be like 10 feet from where Ashton was on his phone. Probably having a fake conversation as well. His publicist/agent was with him and she called for the car. I try to subtly show off the belly to show "Hey - I'm harmless..." and who doesn't like a prego friend, right?

11:06:21... Ashton gets off the phone and I see this as my opportunity. However, I also see a black SUV pulling into the parking lot and know my time is slipping away. I start to plan my approach and some hussy was apparently thinking the same thing from inside the eBay building. She pounced as soon as she saw him turn off his phone. She ran up to him and starting saying how much she loved him and I decided right then and there I didn't want to be that girl. She got her picture and then his publicist/agent pulled him into the SUV.

11:06:59... I'm pretty sure I caught Ashton look at the belly and give me a tiny smile. Maybe it was a curtesy smile... like - hey, I know you were secretly waiting for a picture. or hey, you're pregnant. or hey, the sun's in my eyes and I'm squinting... but either way, it was a little smile that made my fake conversation totally worth it.

Okay - so maybe this won't make the storyline of the 4th Bourne movie, but it added some fun moviestar drama to my day.

The End.

**And thanks to Joanna and Julia for the head's up... None of this would have been possible without you. I'll definitely thank you in my Oscar speach next year**

the boy is back in town!

That hubby of mine was viva-Las-Vegasing since Friday with his cousins and brother. Man time. Gambling, buffets, cigars, more gambling, more buffets, and more cigars. But last night, he came home... and I was one happy girl! Love having my baby home!

He's so cute, no??

baby front...

So a couple fun items on the baby front...

1. We started birth prep classes... aka Lamaze classes. Tuesday was our first class and I would say, oh 70% of the class my hand was on my forehead and my mouth was hanging open with the thought going through my head: "My body is going to do WHAT???" The most interesting part was when she showed us images of what our internal organs look like pre-preggos, at 5 months, 7 months, and right before labor... and I'm telling you, there's NOT a whole lotta room in there for anything! Did you know your uterus starts as a pear size and grows to the size of a watermelon?? Ey yi yi. My intestines are up in my lungs for crying out loud and my bladder is squished flat! We ended the class with some breathing exercises... on the floor... with mats and pillows. Pretty much EXACTLY what I envisioned from all those scenes from TV shows and movies...

2. We got a crib!!

We weren't super aesthetically picky on what we wanted but we knew we wanted it to be safe, toxin-free, made of real wood (no MDF or other man-made glue fest), and something sturdy that would last through all the Dunlop kiddos... Babies R Us had its fair share of cribs. One I thought I was in love with, but upon second sighting was less than impressed.

Cruising around hoity toity Los Gatos yesterday I stopped into their new baby store/showroom and did the basic baby talk - when are you due, when is your shower, what do you need other than what you're expecting from your shower, etc, etc. I mentioned crib and she said she's thinking of selling a few of her floor models for a great price... yes please! She gave me a quote for one that was $200 less than retail value! Cute, boutiquey Los Gatos=way too fancy for our blood, but with 30-40% off the original price, how could we refuse?? I took Josh back last night and he gave it the thumbs up and we have ourselves a crib! Josh will pick it up next week and we'll clean it and happily check that one off our list. So stoked!

3. A couple weeks ago we found an adorable dresser on craigslist that we have since sanded and primed (and by "we" I mean "Josh")... fun paint color to be applied and final before and after pics to be posted upon completion. Get excited.

4. We've been blessed by the UPS man as of late... my mom has been sending little "you may not think you need this, but you will" items our way... some of the goods? Little MissMatched onesies and bibs and blankets (so cute and fun and bright...), a nursing night light, and the miracle blanket... swaddle up, baby!

5. We're real excited to meet her. Like, REAL excited! :)

mouth wide open...

So I'm officially sick. Ugh. You can hand sanitize like a mad woman, drink water like a fish, and avoid all doorhandles if possible yet still end up sick as a dog. Started with the throat ache, followed by the cups-over-the-ears syndrome, next the weight on my shoulders and chest, and now I sound like death. Worst part? I'm already not sleeping all that great (what with a beach ball permanently attached to my torso), but now I can't even breathe through my nose - and I HATE mouth-breathing at night!

Here's the million dollar question though... if I'm sick, is Lil Lop sick? I asked my doctor yesterday and she said there's no scientific proof or tests or information on this issue, but most likely if mama's not happy, baby can't be feeling too happy either... SO. Here's to lots of rests and naps and fluids and TLC for mama and baby....