My Village - Washington, DC

Mis amigas!

Why Lucila, why?   

Presents!!! What mom could live without a boppy pillow.

Belly measuring! 

My last two weeks of pregnancy preparation have been full of reaching out.  As I told my sister-in-law, I think I've been "nesting" in my own way, working to create the village that I know it will take to raise this child.  From my college alumni chapter to my sorority's grad chapter, coworkers and a newly discovered resource, meetup.com, I've been working to surround myself with like-minded people, resources and families.  I've become a fan of tons of mommy written blogs and finally crawled out of my cocoon and began reaching out to my friends again...via phone and email.  

This weekend's activities really brought home to me the importance of that work.  I bit the bullet and in a moment of fiscal irresponsibility (thankfully, these moments are fewer and fewer lately), I bought a plane ticket to Washington, DC last month.  With an almost permanent kool-aid smile, I gallivanted through my old stomping grounds spending Friday at GW, lunch with my DC Best Buddies coworkers, a happy hour (yes, everyone looked at me like I'd lost my mind), Saturday mani/pedi in Alexandria and a surprise baby shower and Sunday breakfast of pancakes with Cicely and the boys!  It couldn't have gone better if I'd scripted it.

There was just so much love and smiles for me, for my belly and for what's inside.  It was a weekend full of good memories and another reminder of how blessed baby Fuller already is to be so loved and anticipated.

And an affirmation for me that I must continue reaching out, extending beyond my comfort zone, pushing myself to be present and participate.  Because Florida is my home and where I'm putting in some roots and watching them grow.