bright lights, big city

as a last hurrah before baby and a little break from the daily grind, i spent a weekend in new york city with some of my favorite chicago girlfriends. only one of us still lives in chitown (!) so it was fun to all meet up and eat our way through the city, with some walking waddling (in my case), a few shows, and lots of late night chats thrown in too. i left nyc feeling beyond grateful for these friends. i love that we can always pick up right where we left off, and that they will all gladly hunt down a food truck at midnight any day.

we brunched at sarabeth's (where viola davis sat behind us), noshed at westville, tasted at sockerbit, pit stopped at the waffles and dingues truck, pizza'ed at bleeker street, tested out the meatball shop, ice creamed at big gay, food trucked at the halal guys, cookied at levain, dined at luke's for lobster rolls, and grabbed cheesecake at junior's too. also, a trip to shake shack was a given. when in new york...

my favorite thing we did was getting blowouts at the dry bar. having good hair, if only for a few minutes before we stepped out into the wind, made my hugely pregnant self feel pretty good. i'd take a shampoo head massage any day.

ky and hannah were our food experts.

we spent a gorgeous afternoon walking the high line, and witnessed a pop-up wedding.

and then, we had to go home and like, take care of our families or something. this trip was so good for the soul! i am definitely past the "cute" stage of pregnancy and well into the swollen, large, and in charge part, but i want to remember this perfect weekend break.

forgotten

a forgotten moment...taking my brand new baby to singapore's hari raya celebration

why is it that we are programmed to forget so easily?

i forget that this little girl i've been entrusted with is so innocent in the world, and freak out when she drops a jar of applesauce all over my clean kitchen floor.

i forget that the last month of being pregnant, for me, is k.i.l.l.e.r. and all i want to do is nothing and everything simultaneously.

i forget the humility, compassion, and diversity i soaked up in our asian travels, and get caught in the comparison game.

i forget that i need to learn lessons again and again and again, and that i need constant reminding and doing to remember my purpose.

also, i'd really love to remember where i put my camera battery charger, what my password to that one site is, and what was that baby name i liked but didn't write down?

baby sister

we don't have a name yet for baby sister, but i am feeling anxious and excited for another little girl. pregnancy is hard on my body, and thinking about recovering from a c-section again makes me sick to my stomach. but it's all worth it!

sweet belize took some photos for me to document this pregnancy...
p.s. i get it now. north carolina in the fall, i mean. it's gorgeous.

a visitor

my dad had a business trip in florida and routed his flight through raleigh so he could spend the weekend with us. the same weekend, nate was at duke's infamous "camp out" -- 36 hours of sleeping in a uhaul in a parking lot with thousands of other students, with random check-ins at any hour of the day/night, to prove your fanhood. if you're still there at the end, your name gets entered into the raffle for duke basketball season tickets (nate got them!). my dad wanted to check it out, so we went and visited nate and matt at their "camp site"

 after tacos at la vaquita, we drove out to mapleview farms for the best ice cream...rich, freshly made, and served in waffle cones to be eaten on the porch in a rocking chair overlooking the farm fields. what's not to love?

 that's fresh peach ice cream she's holding. mmmmm.
 we rocked in rocking chairs at mapleview...

 ...and rocked in rocking chairs as we explored the american tobacco district of downtown durham.

i loved our low key weekend of playing games, watching a little football, and indulging in some dark chocolatey treats (my mom sent see's candy!).
my dad is a rock star and did some hardcore yard work for me just before his flight left.
i've always loved my parents, but it's insane how much more you cherish and appreciate your parents when you're a parent too. they are gold!