21 weeks, flying, crying, teas and parties (not all together)

I'm more than half way there!
First thing first: the 21 weeks photos ...

The dress is a flattering cut. My bump is more substantial than this.

See? And here is my cutie pie, honey bun. 

She is going to be a great big sister. She is already so excited to be one! I think being in preschool helps a lot because there are many kids her age who have siblings. They are either in the day care area of the school or The Bun sees their baby brothers & sisters when the parent is picking up her classmate. She pats my bump often or gives it a kiss and softly says, "Hi baby brother!" It's heart warming, truly.

So the flying! Although I'm no stranger to flying, this was the first time I flew in a privately owned plane. I've flown in a small two-seater plane before when I was in college (a classmate invited me to fly with him as a birthday present) but my first time flying in a plane in which the pilot was also the owner. Technically, my boss also owns the plane. I know, right?

We wanted to meet with a donor but found out that she doesn't drive long distances. Our donor also said she would probably never have an opportunity to visit the school and go on a tour because she had no reason to come out to the Bay Area. After talking to my boss, we decided it was worth the four-hour round trip drive to visit this person. One week out, my boss asks me if I would be willing to ride in her husband's plane instead. Since I would have been the one to drive, I was all for it! And yes, my boss is kind of a bad ass. I don't run in the type of circles in which people have their own planes so this was a welcomed new experience!

The Man, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive. He didn't want to stop me but he just wasn't so keen. In fact, the day before, he asked me if I would be wearing a parachute. I totally get it - he had two family members to worry about on this plane ride! Lucky for all of us, I/we got home safe and sound.

Evidently you can leave your iPhone on during these type of planes. So I took photos!

We were 7,000 feet in the air, somewhere over the Central Valley.

As exciting as it is, I could have fallen asleep. I'm glad I didn't, though. The pilot/boss's husband is very proud of his plane and I wouldn't want him to misinterpret my nap for disinterest.

Snuck in a selfie. Least, I think I did! Or I geeked out in front of my boss and boss' husband.

Another thing fun thing I got to do was have tea with The Bun and two of my best friends, one of which also brought her baby girl. A fellow little for The Bun! I hope they become future best friends. Then I could hang out with my friend almost as much as I did in my 20s;) We tried doing Hawaii with the littles but it's quite a different experience than when we went on our own, PM (pre-Mamahood).

Our best friend spoiling our daughters with cute outfits and accessories.

The next day we went to a 1 year old birthday party. I must say, childrens' birthday parties are a lot more fun when you have a little of your own. The birthday boy had a photo booth so of course we had to partake in the fun! 

The Man & The Bun are so stinkin' cute. All we needed were the pups.

He also had face painting at his party! Always a fan favorite. The face painter was really sweet but kind of on the slow side. The Bun was #12 and she was only on #4 when we got her number! We wanted to leave the party earlier (I was pooped) but The Bun was waiting so patiently and sweetly for her turn. I tried to talk her into letting Daddy paint her face when we got home but she pointed out that we didn't have the same face paints. Drat. So we sat down and waited. And waited. When the painter said #8 and no child came up, she had mercy upon us and let The Bun have her turn. Thanks be because I thought we were closing out the joint since more than half the party goers already left.

So sweet.

Ah, the crying. Something new that's happened this week is that The Bun is getting a little weepy when she and I part ways. I do the drop offs in the morning and have been doing this since I returned to work over four years ago. Saying goodbye is nothing new. If she ever got weepy about it, it was usually with her Daddy because 1) it's out of routine for him to do a drop off and 2) she's Daddy's little girl. But these past two days, she has silently cried when we say goodbye. On one hand, I'm touched because she just doesn't do that. On the other, I don't want my baby girl to be sad! 

We usually have fun goodbyes, especially at preschool because we shake our booties at each other and blow kisses. It really makes me laugh. But yesterday, my mom said she was surprised to look in the backseat of her car and see The Bun in tears when my parents took her home. She said she wanted her mommy:( 

Then today, when I dropped her off at preschool, she looked so sad after our hug. I gave her extra hugs and kisses, telling her I would see her soon. I tried to get her to do our standard goodbye through the patio door but she just looked sad.  My mom thinks she's grown more attached because it's not just me, it's me and baby brother. Maybe that's it but I hope it doesn't last. As much as I love that she misses me, I want my girl to be happy.

I'm looking forward to Spring Break. We'll get to enjoy each other's company, maybe explore some fun parks and just get to hang out. We're due for some Mama-Bun bonding time<3