Does this dress make me look fat? Because I for sure have not put any weight on...:)

Well, here you have it. In an especially bold display of bravado (and possibly because enough of you who live far away have nagged me about "hiding" in every picture), here I am in all of my 9 months pregnant glory. Thanks to all of you who lie to me and tell me I'm all baby, who tell me that it's not that hard to lose the weight and who don't ask me if I'm sure it's not twins. And an especially huge thanks to all of you who have mercifully refrained from telling me that you only gained 2.6 pounds with your babies and it all came off before you left the hospital. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

People tell me I'll look back with great fondness on these pictures that show my robust belly. I sure hope so. In the meantime, I'm just counting down the days. I can't wait to meet her...and to be able to see my feet again. Wish me luck on both counts!

Adam's Job vs. Tamara's Job

Here's where I spent my day today:



Here's where Adam spent his day today:



Ever feel like your job somehow isn't as cool as the next guy's?

You know you're in Texas when...(Volume 2)

So for this installment, you know you're in Texas when your family comes into town and you take them to see cows!

Jacob came to town!!! Could my brothers in law be any cooler? Jacob was such a good sport! We took him to Cow Town and saw a for reals cattle drive.

Lead by cowboy dudes like this guy! And then we saw a cowboy shoot out with a cowboy like the dude below!

I asked the boys if they felt any guilt for eating ribs right after we saw a cattle drive. Unsurprisingly, the boys were unphased. In fact, they opted for the "all you can eat" menu choice and loved every morsel.

So then we went to the cattle yard to see where the cattle drives of the old west used to end up and how they used to scope out the cows they wanted to buy. These beasts are SO big!

I decided if I were in the market for a cow, I'd have picked this beauty. I mean, look at all the body in his horns. It's lovely and all achieved without product.

Thanks for joining us for this installment of you know you're in Texas when. Don't worry folks. We've still got plenty more to show you all so come on down and we'll feature you in our next volume! And thanks for coming Jacob. You make everything more fun because you're so easily entertained and quick to laugh. You're welcome back any time!

Really, Lakers? That's all you got?

I know, Phil. My sentiments exactly. Even with the league MVP on the roster, the best we can do is crumble like sniveling little girls on the court. I embarassed. I feel shame.

Chin up, Zen Master. We at least still like you, even if we despise Kobe!

CALL THE ZOO!!!

On Saturday, Adam hooked us up with passes to the Zoo. My brother and sister in law and their kids, together with our other nephew Brandon, were gracious enough to join us! Below, Brandon, Camille, Emma and Ashley pause for a moment after an up close and personal visit with the gorilla to allow me to document the wonderful occasion. Here, the kiddos, (including Uncles Justin and Adam) take a peek through the telescopes in the African jungle exhibit. These things take focus as you can tell from their very intense posture.

Here's Adam showing Ashley how to make friends with a certain adorable little primate. The monkey was too cute for words and Ash was just enthralled with him.
I think my SIL Katie had had enough of the afternoon heat. She seemed a little too happy to have her head in a crocodile's mouth. In fact, she made it look so fun, everyone had to take a turn!
Thankfully, Ashley's daddy was there to rescue her from this ravenous beast.
And fearless Brando was able to fend him off of Emma. Phew, it was close for a minute there.
We're so lucky to have family here close. Adam and I both agree that just about everything is more fun with kids and we just happen to have the most entertaining nieces and nephews on the planet. They keep us laughing, that's for sure. And their parents aren't bad either. Well, that's one Saturday activity down. I can hardly wait to find out what Adam will come up with for next weekend!

Weekend in Cali

Last weekend, my beautiful sister got married in L.A. She was a stunning bride and I'll post pictures of that soon but in the meantime, Adam and I took the chance to stay a few extra days and live it up in So. Cal. We hung out with family and visited tons of our favorite haunts. We had the best time EVER! Here's a bunch of our tour guides who we have to thank for our enjoyable weekend showing us the Chinese Mann Theatre.

We (the ladies) have a favorite locale to get our chocolate fix. Here is Carrie (my wonderful SIL who I love love love) and her cute baby Aurora together with my mom (need I even mention how much I love my mama?) and our other niece Malia. We thought it was about time to introduce the next generation to chocolate addiction.
And we thought we'd bring the boys along. They both loved it. I would have posted a picture of Adam loving his chocolate bliss but unfortunately I'm in it and I look...well...dreadful. Sorry Adam! :)
Then we took a day trip up to Santa Barbara to show Adam some of the other beautiful scenery in Cali. Here he is with baby Aurora outside the mission in Santa Barbara. The weather was SO perfect that we had a picnic on the beach. It was beautiful. So perfect. Have I mentioned how I love Cali? And on to our next field trip...HOLLYWOOD!
Check out Adam teaching his little buddy Kenzie all about his favorite star on the Walk of Fame. Look closely folks. Here, I'll help you out:

That's right. We couldn't take the man to Hollywood and not let him pay homage to Stallone, right?
Kenzie found her way to Shirley Temple and next to the cast of Harry Potter. What bliss for the kid!
Daddy found John Wayne. It was pretty much his happy place. What dad doesn't love John Wayne?!?
My little brother Mark (teeny, isn't he?) lead us all to Sean Connery and you can imagine the Celebrity Jeopardy lines that followed.
And we topped the night off by seeing Wicked. Thanks fam for making time for us and for accompanying us all around the Southland to revel in the glorious Cali fun. We couldn't have asked for a better trip! Love you guys!

Feast your eyes on THIS!

Yay for relatives moving to Dallas. My brother and his family moved to Dallas this last weekend. Lucky for me, since Justin had to start work before they closed on their house, we had a house guest for a couple of days. And you all know what I do when the boys out number the girls in the house...SEND THEM TO THE GRILL!!!

And grill they did. Fresh corn, fresh pineapple and Adam's famous burgers in a melding of culinary flavors to amaze and delight. Two words...DEEE- LISH!
So check this out. It was my first unofficial Mother's Day last Sunday and Adam surprised me with tickets THIS CLOSE to the Symphony for their performance the Saturday before. I don't know how many of you can say that you were serenaded by an entire symphony for Mother's Day, but I was. They played a song in tribute to all the mothers in attendance and they actually sang along! It was rad too because after the intermission, they had a jazz concert featuring this amazing trumpeter and his rocking guitarist and drummer. Those guys were wailing on their instruments. It was a hopping party, for reals.
The Myerson Center is so amazingly beautiful inside. Just a really pretty architectural piece. What a fun place to spend an evening. It's only a few steps away from my office but it feels like its miles away (which is just where I want to be.) And, on our exit from the building, we got to feast our eyes on this beauty. I am not making this up. Who does that?!? I couldn't resist capturing this on film. What a crack up! You know you're in Texas when... Anyway, as usual, Adam has out done himself. I really did luck out with that dude.

And welcome to Texas, Justin and Katie. May the humidity be as merciless to your hair as it is to mine...(what? you didn't expect me to be frizzy alone, did you?)