Baby: Week 21 - California Trip!

Week 21 - Baby is the size of a banana!

Our baby girl gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, I'm supposed to think about what we want our little girl to eat as I prepare my own lunch. Uh-oh. She's gonna like hamburgers!

Baby went on her first airplane ride this weekend. I went on a quick trip to Sacramento to visit Alyson. Good to know baby can taste what I'm eating now - so interesting. Alyson took me to some yummy places. Of course, we had to photograph some of these meals!

Al snapped this one on her camera phone. Baby Girl, did you like the eggs with chicken apple sausage? Mmmm...I sure did.


Saturday morning Al had just woken me up when someone knocked at the door. She's like, "What?" Who could be here? She was only in her towel so I volunteered to get the door. Of course at the last minute I thought, "Uh-oh. Hope it's not a killer!" Well, fortunately it was not a killer, but our surprise guest did bring bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. My girl, Kiersten! What a great surprise!


So fun. So excited to see her. I had baked her favorite banana bread, so she was happy too!


And when these two get together...it's good times.


They are silly and I love 'em.


We invited Kiersten on our excursion that day, but she couldn't go... We went into San Francisco and our first stop was the Orpheum Theatre to try to get tickets to Wicked. Al and I were so excited when we won the "lottery" and got discounted tickets at $25.00 a piece (tickets are normally $40 [nosebleed section] to $100). We also got $4.00 parking (normally $20.00). It was very exciting. Years ago, when Mom and I went to NYC, we heard about Wicked, but I told Mom I didn't want to see a play about witches - it sounded evil. I never knew until recently it was about the Wizard of Oz. Who knew? Kind of an embarrassing thing to admit, but oh well.

While we waited until it was time to head to the show, we didn't really have time for lunch, but we did check out a Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives connection  (Triple Ds)- Dynamo Donuts.


They are famous for their maple bacon apple donuts. Now, you might remember Alyson's trip when she brought another Triple D joint's maple bacon donut from Voodoo in Portland. Those were really sweet, but these? These were good!


We had to try the spiced chocolate too. The girl in front of me said they have cayenne in them. They taste like Mexican hot chocolate - yum. Baby Girl, you were dancing away in my belly. I think you liked it!

OK - back to the show.


This was officially Baby's first musical - definitely not her last. Wicked was amazing. The sets and costumes were awesome and the music was fantastic. We all loved it. Al definitely did - it was her third time! Our cheap seats weren't bad, but we moved as soon as the show started and had terrific seats. We were happy!


So, it had been a while since we'd eaten anything of substance (other than a donut), so after the show Al took us to another Triple D restaurant that specialized in my pregnancy favorite - HAMBURGERS!

Gott's Roadside - Tray Gourmet is on Embarcadero on the waterfront.


Al was very excited.


Their burgers were fantastic - I must say.


We decided it is all about the bun. Yum.


Baby, don't you worry. You liked the burger too. You danced all the way home. But... not before we saw this parked on the street. Wow.


It was a great trip. Very fast, but worth it to get some quick time with such a wonderful friend. Thanks, Al! Love you. Baby and I will be back! By the way Al, just for you - "That's what she said!"