Mahler 1 Concert

I have officially played my last concert as a pregnant woman. For the last 2 weeks, our orchestra has been rehearsing Mahler's Symphony No. 1 with the Experimental Orquestra (youth symphony), and we played a side by side concert this week. As a trombonist, it's always fun to play Mahler, and although it was not a perfect performance, the energy of the group was great. Jay even said it was an "inspiring performance."
One of the big feats for me in this concert, being 30 weeks pregnant, was the fact that I made it through the whole piece (more than an hour long) without needing to go to the bathroom. The lil guy squirmed around a lot during the concert. I think he is a big Mahler fan!

Side by side concert

Low brass section

Our bows at the end 

Because of the timing of the opera festival, I won't be playing any operas this season. While I do want to continue playing until he's born, cramming into the hot pit for 4 + hour rehearsals would probably not be a great idea for anyone. It's hard enough to maneuver around down there without a big belly getting in the way. 

It's kind of amusing how many people think I am due any day now. It's pretty funny to see their faces when I say I still have more than 2 months left. Jay and I are looking forward to seeing how much bigger my belly will get in the next 10 weeks, and of course, we can't wait to hold our lil guy in our arms! 

Back to Brasil

We had a great end to our extended vacation in NYC and Phoenix, and with our previous weather karma, Jay was hoping to delay our departure to Manaus by another day, too. We didn't get so lucky though, and we left NY during the afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately for Jay, by the time we landed in Atlanta for our first short layover, it was half-time! Not only did he miss the first half of the game, we had to board right before the second half started. We thought maybe they'd be playing it on satellite tv on the plane, but they didn't. Good thing his team wasn't playing... well, sort of.
About a week before we decided to go to the states in January, we had planned on being there February through March. As annoying as it was to be forced to change our plans because of visa issues, I am so grateful to have traveled at that earlier point in the pregnancy. The going there was not so bad at 22 weeks or so, but the 20+ hours, 2 day trip back at 27 weeks was a little much for this lady. We had 2 short, 3.5 hour flights at the start and end of our trip which weren't too bad. I had to get up and walk around a bit and use the bathroom, but they were nothing compared to the 9 hour flight from Atlanta to Brasilia. Talk about uncomfortable. While the guy next to me at the window seat slept the entire time, neither Jay nor I could sleep at all. I had to get up so much to stretch and walk around, and never felt comfortable enough to doze off. Fortunately, Jay is super supportive and rubbed my legs for me, but there was really no relief until we got off the plane.
That relief was rather short-lived once we got back to our place in Manaus and discovered that there was mold everywhere! Having no previous experience traveling at this rainy time of year, we didn't think it would be a problem. We were seriously wrong on that one. We spent the whole afternoon back cleaning the couch, pillows, floors, bathroom, fridge, and cabinets.
Not exactly the welcome home we were expecting, but then again, somehow it didn't surprise us!

Tales from NYC

Somehow we ended up with bad traveling/weather karma on this trip to the states. Granted, we don't usually do so much traveling in January or February, but still. Our flight to Phoenix from New York was canceled and delayed a day because of an impending winter snow storm. It ended up snowing 7 inches overnight, and by mid afternoon on the original flight day, most flights were operating on schedule. We had a place to stay in the city and didn't want to chance spending a night at JFK, so we didn't mind the delay too much. On the way back from Phoenix to New York, another impending snow storm in the East caused our flight to be canceled again! We changed it online for free, showed up bright and early at the airport for our new flight the next morning, and were promptly forced to reschedule it because it too was canceled. Our third try to get into the NYC area was successful, and after a brief stop off in Baltimore, we were back to the cold, windy winter days of NYC. The only concern we had with our changing schedule was the time constraint we were under with the visa documentation for Jay. Luckily, our plans were not ruined as the nice woman at the Brazilian consulate made an exception for my desperate husband. Muito obrigada!!
Being 6 months pregnant and with 4 full suitcases, we thought it would be best to forgo the shlepping up non-elevator buildings and sleeping on futons generally associated with staying at friends' places in New York.  Jay found an absolutely great hotel on the Upper West Side at a good price. We stayed in a residential building that also rented out places for people in a studio apartment that slept 4 comfortably and had a kitchen and bathroom. We were less than a block away from the subway, Trader Joe's, and Gray's Papaya. We both highly recommend it!

26 weeks prego, Woogo Hotel apt.

My best friend Nik came to visit us there <3

One of the things we most looked forward to this whole trip was our Baby Shower in NYC. My good friend Natalie volunteered to host it at her house for us, and she couldn't have done a better job! We were so thrilled to be able to spend time with all of our friends in one place on a Friday night, and I know that everyone had an amazing time.

Me with the Hostess with the Mostest

We started the night with a delicious homemade dinner of arugula salad, baked chicken, and pasta w/pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. Nat is quite the chef and baker, and everything she makes turns out being awesome. She made lots of cupcakes that spelled out "Showers of Happiness" and even made chocolate lollipops in the shape of baby things to give as favors. It was so cute!

There were a lot of fun games planned, and lucky for us, all of our friends are really good sports! Everyone participated between conversations, and I know I will always fondly remember all of the laughing involved. 

This is the game where each person tried to guess 

the right measurement of my belly. 

Jay's was too short! Good work ;) 

Each team had to act out a song with the word "baby" in it. 

Ours chose "Hit Me Baby One More Time," as you can see!

The other team's turn singing.

After several fun games, like name the baby animal, we opened our presents. Since space was quite limited in our suitcases, thanks to the generosity of family and friends in Arizona, we mostly received gift cards in NYC. They will all undoubtedly be put to good use for our lil guy. 

Plenty of our friends told us after the shower that it was the best shower they've ever been to. Besides the host's obvious enthusiasm and preparation, the reason for this is because we have such great friends in our lives. We truly feel loved by them all, and we hope there is no doubt that the feeling is mutual. 

Let's Go Suns!

Jay's mom and dad treated us all to a Suns game the other day, and it was a great time. They played the Celtics, and the Suns pleasantly surprised us by kicking some serious booty! They were ahead the entire game, and I have to say, that makes the whole experience so much better.

Right before the start of the game

The Happy Hatlers

It was cool to see the game in person, and even better to go home with a win and a super happy husband!