Team PINK!!!

Well, yes, I do fully support breast cancer... But this is the other team pink.

We are going to have a baby girl!!!  I can not wait for spring now so that we can meet her!

Almost 20 weeks... Not sure how many exactly, but CLOSE!

Pregnancy is still being good to me... Some think too good.  I consider myself lucky, very lucky.  No morning sickness, weird cravings, swelling (yet) or any of the other crazy things so many pregnant women have to deal with.  Our little girl is being good to me, I thank her a million times over for that!

Can not wait to meet you!!

and baby makes three

That's right, we are going to have a baby!!  

It's pretty crazy, but we are definitely excited.  I can't wait to find out the sex of the baby, we are hoping at my next appointment that the doctor will be able to tell... I guess we will have to wait and see!  I have been given 2 due dates, March 26 or April 2.  So, I am going for a due date range.  HA!  I figure baby will make its arrival anywhere from March 20 (would be cool, since it is the first day of spring) to April 9. 

Currently, I am almost 14 weeks... Heading full steam ahead into my second trimester.  I was very lucky during the first trimester.  No morning sickness or any of the other negative side affects of pregnancy.  I still don't really feel pregnant, although I am sure that will change soon.  My pants are starting to get tight, but no baby bump to see yet.  Within the next few weeks I think baby will need more room and it might be time to break out the maternity jeans.  

We are so excited to meet our little one.  Spring seems so far away, especially since we are just beginning fall.  But, I am sure that the next 6ish months will fly by.  Can't wait!

First glimpse of baby... Approx 6 weeks.

Baby is growing little arms and legs!

Baby at 12 weeks and a few days.  Starting to look like a little person!

Yep, looks like we have a bun in the oven!

"For Always"

Since Paul and I started talking about our lives together, we never really talked about "forever".  It was always "for always".

When it came time to get our wedding bands, I knew I wanted to get them both engraved with something meaningful and something that wouldn't lose meaning over time.  So we both took a little piece of paper, wrote what we wanted each others ring to say then we put it in the box.  I took them both to our jeweler to have them engraved.  I made sure to tell him that if Paul picks up the rings, don't let him see what his ring says.  And I (surprisingly) didn't even look.  I wanted to know, but I wanted to be surprised on our wedding day as well.

May 8th came around, and after we said our "I do's" I slipped off my ring to see what he wrote.  It said, simply, "For Always".  It made me smile even more than I already had been.  What did I write in his?  "For Always 5-8-11".  It really made me happy.  We know that we are meant to be.  But seeing what we both wrote, without knowing what the other was writing, well, its pretty cool.  Great minds think a like they say... I think the same goes for those who share a great love.

The BIG Question

Since we got married, just over 2 months ago now, there has been one big question...  So, how does it feel?

Well, it doesn't feel any different than before we were married.  

The hardest part, which is kind of silly, is signing my new name.  :)  

I think that marriage, although a BIG commitment, should not change you, or change your relationship.  Paul and I had for a long time, before we were Mr & Mrs, had that level of commitment.  It was not signified with a big ceremony or diamonds or any of that.  We just knew that no matter what, we planned on being together.  We were each others other half.  There was no wondering what our intentions were.  They were to be together.

That being said, I could not wait for the wedding.  I could not wait to be his wife.  There is something special about having that title of husband and wife.  Although the title doesn't change us, it does make me smile every time he introduces me as "my wife, Niki". 

Lorelei, my hair dresser of 3ish years, got married in May of 2010.  We had the "hows it feel conversation" and she agreed that it (marriage) is only a big deal if you make it a big deal.  She said, "It is just great that I get to spend every day with my best friend."  I couldn't agree with her more.  I am so lucky to have Paul.  He really is my best friend, and will forever be.  

So, no, it doesn't feel and different.  Being married feels the same as not being married.  It is great.  Always has been and will always be.

1,000 Words

Our professional pictures are up!!  They are absolutely amazing.  Not sure how we are going to pick which prints to order, but I am excited to see them all!  Here is a link so you can check them out too!

www.pictage.com/1041861

Mr&Mrs

We're married!!!

On Sunday, we were married.  It was the most amazing wedding, ever.  I cannot even begin to describe how magical it was.  It was just perfect.  And being able to marry the love of my life, well that was the best part.  We leave tonight for our honeymoon and we are so excited for vacation time!

Here are a few pictures from our friend to share a bit of the day...

And they lived happily ever after!

In Just 7 Days

One week from now, it will be here.  

Our wedding day.

I feel like this is something I have been planning for my WHOLE life.  It really is amazing how what you think you want changes a zillion times.  I think I have been dreaming about this day for the last 15 years.  And that is probably not too big of an exaggeration.  HA!  My mom used to tell me that I would need to get married 15 times to have all the weddings I wanted.  I don't need 15, just this one. It will be perfect.

May 8, 2011 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, in a beautiful vineyard full of romance, I will be the luckiest girl in the world.  I will be just moments away from marrying the love of my life. 

Always Changing

A little while ago, I posted about our wedding party.  However, it has changed since then.  Paul's friend Luis won't be able to make it (his fiancee is getting her degree that same weekend), so we made a substitution.  Although we are bummed Luis won't be there to celebrate with us, we are excited to have Kevin aka G-Man (Gorman) as one of the groomsmen.  He is one of the officers at Paul's department, and he is a lot of fun. 

27 days and counting...

Honeymoon!

You think that planning a wedding from start to finish would be the hardest part... Not so much.  

For us it was deciding if and where we would honeymoon.  

In fact, we didn't even BOOK our honeymoon until this week (keep in mind the wedding itself is now 29 days away!).  It was a process, especially since we had such a great relaxing vacation in August when we took a cruise to Alaska.  We had to look at everything from how long we wanted to be gone, how much we wanted to spend, and what we wanted to get for our money.

We had a BIG list of places we did not want to go (Paul had a lot to contribute, ha!).  It really narrowed our selection.  We first had decided to go to Kauai (by far the most amazing island I have ever visited) and stay on the north shore for 6 days.  Then we became undecided. Good thing we hadn't booked.  And then, mother nature decided to have a fit and there were several large earthquakes that affected Japan, also causing a tsunami.  Due to the nature of everything that has been going on in Japan, Paul thought it probably wasn't the safest time to visit Kauai, being that it is much closer to Japan.  I had to agree.  

A couple friends of ours had said that they had wanted to go to Cozumel and that it was a great deal and beautiful.  We checked it out and I would have to agree with our friends.  After looking at pictures and reading reviews online, it sounded amazing.  Considering we want to just relax on our honeymoon, but not get bored, this sounded like a great place.  Cozumel is part of Mexico, but is an island in the Caribbean.  I for one am excited to go and play in another ocean!!  We decided after much research and debate to stay at Cozumel Palace.  

I can not wait for 5 nights of all inclusive relaxation in such a beautiful place!!  

Love Session

So, a few weeks ago, Paul and I ventured to Monterey to do our engagement pictures.  After two previous attempts, the third time was the charm.  We had finally made it work between our crazy schedules and manages to cheat the weather and get a rain free day.  It may have been one of the few in March, since it seemed to pour non-stop.  It was super windy, and a bit on the cold side, but in the end we got some amazing pictures.  I couldn't be happier.  Even Paul, who is not a fan of having his pictures taken, had a good time.  

Thank you to our amazing photographer!  

You can check out the pictures on his blog (www.mikesteelman.com/blog), there are a couple postings there with pictures

OR 

You can go to the "official site" (www.pictage.com/1014323) to see all of the pictures.  Just go to the link then sign the guest book!

Can't wait for the wedding... 35 days and counting!

In Between

While we are done with the bulk of the planning process, we are in what I like to call "the in between".  This blog, I thought would be fun to look back on some of the fun things that Paul and I have done, and places we have been. 

Our first trip together.  :)  

We went to Disneyland and California Adventure for "Halloween Time" in October 2008.

On our camping trip to Lake Don Pedro with the guys from Paul's department, it was SO much fun!

 

Our snowboarding trip, my first time to the snow in almost 10 years!!  We had such an amazing time snowboarding at Heavenly!!  It is a beautiful place, we lucked out!

 

Back in Tahoe to for our friend's wedding.  South Shore sunsets are amazing!

 Christmas time at the Monterey Bay Plaza Hotel.  So nice to have little getaways together!

I needed help with my boots!  Such a gentleman!

 

Less than 24 hours after Paul proposed.  On board the Sea Princess in San Francisco.

 

At the Parliament Building in Victoria, Canada (first time out of the country for us!)

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska!

Our last stop, Skagway, Alaska.

Glacier cruising.  COLD but beautiful!

It is so much fun to look back on just some of the wonderful memories we have made so far.  Looking forward to making many more of the together, starting with our wedding in May!

Wedding Weekend!

Being that our wedding will be on Sunday in beautiful Carmel Valley, what a weekend it would be for you to be able to kick back and relax.  Keeping that in mind, we have complied a list of area hotels for those of you who are interested in staying the night (Saturday and/or Sunday) in Carmel or Monterey.  

 We have set up a rate agreement with Carmel Mission Inn, located about 5 miles away from Chateau Julien, where both the ceremony and reception will be held.

The rates are as follows: $149 for Saturday night and $109 for Sunday night.  The rooms are subject to availability, and reservations will need to be made prior to 30 days before the date of the event (so before April 7th to be safe).  

Call (888)-999-7206 to make your reservations.

Make sure to mention the "West-Lopez Wedding" to get this special rate.

Other area hotels:

Carmel Valley Ranch (all suites, views of Carmel Valley)

Monterey Bay Plaza Hotel (on Cannery Row)

Monterey Marriott (downtown Monterey)

Monterey is about 15 miles from the location of the wedding.

Maids and Men

I just want to take a moment to introduce the people who are helping us celebrate our wedding in a very special way, our wedding party.  Although I could go on and on about each one of these people, I will keep it short and sweet.

Officiant:

Mason, a friend of ours and a former coworker of Paul's at the police department.  (Thank you internet for allowing our friends to become ordained so that we may have them marry us!)

Maid of Honor:

Shelby, friends since kindergarten.  20 years of friendship and counting...

Best Man:

Brandon, friends and co-workers at the department.  Soon to be partners again in investigations.

(the following are in no particular order)

Bridesmaids:

Jenna, friends since my sophomore year of high school.

Amaya, friends through friends.  Always a wonderful way to have amazing people come into your life.

Kira, former co-worker and friends for almost 5 years.

Elena, we have gone to school together since 7th grade, and have become close friends over the past 3 years.

Groomsmen:

Jose, friend and former co-worker.  Part of the Costco crew!

Efraim, friend.  Once upon a time, co-workers at Costco.  Crossed paths again at the police academy and now work for the same department!

Cliff, friend, and like Jose, part of the Costco crew!

Luis, like Cliff and Jose, all part of the Costco crew, and remained good friends for many, many years.

Its amazing how people come into your life, and those who stay and those who go.  We are both so lucky to have so many amazing people in our lives, and wonderful people who we can say are true friends.  Those friendships stand the test of time.