In West Philadelphia born and raised...

Just thought you all should have the Fresh Prince theme stuck in your heads the way it was stuck in mine during my trip to Philadelphia.  A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Philadelphia for a conference of law school admissions folk.  It was a wonderful trip with a good blend of learning more about my new profession, meeting amazing new people, seeing historic Philadelphia, and enjoying a huge king-sized bed as I ended my first trimester in the city that first celebrated Mother's Day.   Cool, huh?

I flew from Oklahoma City to Dallas before heading to Philadelphia.  On my way into DFW I snapped this picture of Cowboys Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington.

My cute Liberty Bell hat, gotta' love conference SWAG

On a walk near our hotel to see historical sites, and maybe find a maternity boutique that sold jeans and dress pants in long sizes, I snapped a few pictures:

First stock exchange in the US

Second Bank of the United States

Independence Hall

One night we had diner at The City Tavern, a famous restaurant in Philadelphia.  A few of my favorite facts about The City Tavern are:

It's where they celebrated the first 4th of July

George Washington's pre-inaugural ball was held in the room where we had dinner

The closing of the first and second Continental Congress was celebrated there

Cocktails on the lawn before dinner, of course I skipped the fun stuff

Couldn't post this picture on Facebook because a certain little someone was not being very secretive.

My fancy water chalice

On one of our free afternoons we took a double-decker bus tour of the city.

National Constitution Center

Benjamin Franklin's grave

Chinatown Friendship Gate

Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited street in America

Betsy Ross's house

Downtown Philadelphia

Old City Hall

Bust of Benjamin Franklin made of keys

Know how disappointing it is to see a landmark and it's SO much smaller than you imagined (think the Alamo).  The LOVE statue in Philadelphia is just such a landmark.  Seriously, it's tiny.  So far the only landmark that has surpassed my expectations was the Eiffel Tower.  

I have big hopes for the Empire State Building that I'll be seeing in 18 days!

Historical Eastern State Penitentiary 

Evidently they have a haunted house in pitch darkness during October, can you imagine?

Philadelphia Museum of Art...also the Rocky steps

The Liberty Bell

Such gorgeous city streets

First hospital in the US, Pennsylvania Hospital

Remnant of the 1876 World's Fair

On my way to the airport I had to find a cheese steak sandwich.

I chose to try one from Jim's.

It's not something I'd want to have very often, but I liked it.

The hardest part of traveling is being away from this sweet face.  We played hooky from school on the morning after I returned and had a Panera breakfast date.  This may become a tradition when I return from trips.

Ava doesn't like to miss school, so I was honored that she agreed to breakfast with me.  Her little school is so dreamy.  She comes home with the best stories, filthy and torn clothes, dirt on her face, leaves in her hair, and just happy as can be.  I joke that Gingerbread (her school) is where hairbows go to die.  I have to triple clip them in her hair and even then they don't always make it home.  Here are a few pictures of her on the way to school and one at the end of the day.  

An aside, she chooses to dress in skirts and dresses.  No pants for this girl ever.

Before school

Before school

Where I find her after school.

If you click to make this picture big you'll notice that her tights are torn with huge holes, her shoes are filthy, she has (washable) paint all over her dress and marker on her face.  And this was after just half a day at school!

The reason she was only in school for half a day is because we spent our morning at Josh's Oklahoma Bar Swearing-In Ceremony. 

Enjoy these shots from the ceremony:

After the ceremony Ava and I made our way down to where Josh was signing the ledger.

Officially a member of the Oklahoma Bar

So proud of her Daddy

We all four made it!

Oh good, something else to frame.  We could fill a punch card from Hobby Lobby by the time my little degree and certificate collector is done.

My favorite shot of the day, in front of the Oklahoma State Capitol building.

 Josh's office is right across the street from the capitol, so we decided to help him make his official job change.  I was trying to get a picture of Josh's nameplate and couldn't help but notice that in every shot Ava is either gazing lovingly or hugging him.

She really adores him.

Legal Intern?  Not anymore folks.

Almost official

There it is!

Law student no longer.  What a magical day.

Now Ava comes to the law school to visit me instead.

Now for a quick baby update, I'm finally feeling better!  I feel like the trip to Philadelphia was really a turning point for me.  Since returning I've been able to do amazing things like grocery shop and cook!

I've also started to have real cravings - not just "I think I can eat this without being sick."  So far my cravings have been for kooky things like horseradish, mustard, pickles, sauerkraut, and cinnamon.  (I've been pregnant three times and all three times cinnamon was a constant craving.  The best satiation is cinnamon Altoids.)  When I was pregnant with Ava I craved pineapples and ate them until my mouth was full of blisters.  We called her Pineapple until we found out her gender and started calling her Ava. During this pregnancy I've survived on baked potatoes, and was beginning to think we were going to have to call this little one Tater.  Thank goodness my strong craving for all things German has kicked in.  We're calling the baby Gherkin, German for pickle.  Very appropriate. 

We tried a local German restaurant last night and it was amazing.  Don't worry, that's not beer in my mug, it's apfelschorle.

And for my sister who insists I need intentional bump shots here's my 13 week profile.  

It really is true that baby number two is quicker to show than the first.  I'm already in maternity pants.  Crazy.  187ish days until Squishy Baby Land!