christmas

We can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner! We have our tree all adorned with decorations, lights, and presents. We've sent out our presents as well (thank you Amazon Prime!). Our holiday cards are almost ready to go out too! 

Ollie met Santa Claus at his play gym and would not crack a smile for the camera. He was dead serious the entire time. We finally got an okay picture after snapping about 20 of them. I guess his serious face is better than his cry face. I was hoping for a fat jolly Santa but instead got a skinny Santa that didn't say a word to the kids. Oh well, better luck next year. 

We spent Thanksgiving with friends here in Charleston and will be doing the same for Christmas. We've traveled so much last year that we just wanted a nice and quiet holiday. But of course, that can only last so long right? 

After Christmas and before New Year's Eve, we'll be spending a long weekend in Atlanta, GA. We're not sure what we are going to do there yet. We heard that the United State's biggest aquarium is there. We also learned from the Food Network that there is an amazing international market there as well!

Ollie and I will be heading back west to California in a month to meet his new baby cousin Alexander. We're only there for a short trip. I really didn't want to travel again until the spring but I'm anxious to meet that little nephew of mine. Oh well… I promise this will be the last trip before April when we head up to Washington DC / northern Virginia for a wedding.

busy busy busy...

It really has been busy for us here. However, we're done with our travels for the year (maybe except for a weekend trip to Atlanta, GA). Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, Christmas is just right around the corner.

We spent Thanksgiving with Andy's colleague's family. It was a lot of fun and a lot of great food. I made a pumpkin cake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting topped with candied pecans. Yum.

The Christmas tree is up and our Christmas Elf has made his presence in our home (we have yet to name him). I made a couple of wreaths to hang, and even made one for our neighbors. Andy and I are not huge "Christmas people" so we don't go crazy over this holiday, and Oliver is too young to understand it at this point. We've been purchasing many things for the home and for me to start my business (more information to come as I get started next year). So presents are not high on our list of to-do's. We'll save that for next year when Oliver is more aware of what is going on.

For now, enjoy some pictures from our trip these last couple of months.

4 months old!

We've had a whirlwind of a few months. After my parents left in July, my brother, his girlfriend and my cousin came to visit us. Well, mainly to visit Ollie. All our visits are based around Ollie now. We had a great time hanging out at the beach and in Old Mount Pleasant catching blue crabs. Everyone had a great time despite the aggressive mosquitoes that were out in August.

In September, I travelled with Ollie alone to California for a week before Andy joined us. Prior to our flights, I was quite nervous. Including our layover, we were looking forward to almost 11 hours of travel time! Luckily, Ollie is a wonderful traveller! He barely slept on either of the flights but he was full of smiles. He flirted with all the flight attendants and any one else who paid him any attention! The pressure of the plane ascending and descending did not bother him one bit. 

While in San Francisco, Ollie had a chance to meet most of my extended family and Andy's family that resides in the Bay Area as well. We were busy the entire time with family dinners and parties that we barely had a chance to just hang out. Despite all the commotion, I'm glad Ollie had a chance to meet everyone and spend some quality time in San Francisco. 

Next up was Seattle. We headed up mainly for a dear friend's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. Both the bride and groom looked amazing! 

While in Seattle we stayed with Andy's cousin Allen's family. Ollie is just one month younger than their youngest, Chan. Ollie is a little shrimp compared to Chan Chan who's built like a tank! What a difference one month really makes! 

Finally, we headed up to Vancouver. This will be Ollie's first time visiting niang-niang, Uncle Evan and Auntie Amanda. Niang-niang threw a meet and greet party for Ollie. It was a lot of fun. He was passed around a lot and received a million kisses from all the ladies at the party. Auntie Rita also claimed Ollie as her future grandson-in-law. 

It was a busy 3 weeks away from home. I'm going to surprise myself by saying this, but I'm glad to be back in Charleston, to our own home and bed. However, we have a lot more travelling before the end of the year. Fingers crossed that Ollie remains a great traveller! 

Oh yes, in the midst of all this, our baby Ollie turned 4 months old on the 11th!

(My hard drive is out of space so unfortunately, I can't add anymore pictures.)

"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it"

said Oliver's pediatrician repeatedly during his 2 month wellness check today. I can't believe how much he's grown since his 2 week checkup. He doubled his weight going from the second to twenty-second percentile! His height though... well he's dropped down to the fifth percentile. We are still hoping he gets his ye-ye's (paternal grandfather) height genes. He was six foot tall! We can be hopeful can't we?

	2 weeks	2 months
Weight	5 lb 15 oz	11 lb 4 oz
Length	20 inches	21.75 inches
Head Circumference	13.5 inches	15 inches

happy 2 months

...to our baby boy. In these two months, you've grown so much. We can't imagine what it was like without you in our lives. There are tough days and nights but every second of it is worth it!

Oliver is more alert now and is just beginning to smile socially. He loves music, plantation shutters and fans. He's a fan of belly blowing and body massages but he is ticklish. 

He loves his night time bath from daddy while he stares at himself in the mirror. We try to put him to bed between 10-11 pm. He's up two times a night, around 1-2 am and again at 5 am. He finally wakes up around 7-7:30 am and stays up until about 10:30 am when daddy leaves for work. Then it's mommy and baby all day until around 7-8 pm.

As pictured below, he has grown so much in a month. He barely fits on the chair laying down anymore.

We love you Oliver.

challenge fail already

So far I've only completed day 1 of my 30 day challenge. Not a great start. I have a laundry list of excuses but they are... well... just excuses. The last time I weighed myself, I was 13 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Ideally I'd like to be 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight. Not impossible.

I think my real problem with following through is that I want to workout with someone and not just by myself. I always hated working out alone. I need the motivation of another person. I'm lame. I know. I will get my butt in gear... soon.

30 day challenge

Pregnancy wasn't as nice to me as i would have liked.

Prior to getting pregnant i was on the path to lose weight. I lost 5 pounds from my wedding and was loving it. I was finally fitting into those skinny jeans again and a size zero was fitted instead of a little tight. Hiking in utah during our cross country road trip helped as well. while in utah, we hiked over 10 miles a day. I was feeling great. A was feeling great.

I didn't gain too much weight the first trimester. The second trimester wasn't too bad either. However, the third trimester reared it's ugly fat head and my weight soared. The average recommended weight gain during pregnancy for an average weight woman is 25-35 pounds. I gained close to 40. I don't know how and I don't know why. My eating habits didn't change much. I presume it was my decrease in physical activities. There were no more mountains and/or hills here in South Carolina. It'd take us at least 3.5 hours to drive to the closest mountain ranges in North Carolina. I did keep up with my weekly yoga though. 

Now that O is here and almost one month old (yay!), it's time for me to get my butt back in shape. I've only lost 18 of the almost 40 pounds I gained. My tummy is slowly deflating but the weight is still here and it's driving me crazy. I still can't fit into my "normal" clothes and can barely squeezed into some of my loose tops. In lieu of hitting the gym, which I hate, I found some challenges I can do at home. Once my midwife clears me to really exercise again, A and I will be running again and I will again search for a new yoga studio to join. But for now, I will start my 30-day challenge.

The 30-day squat challenge is based on Khloe Kardashian's program. I also found a 30-day crunch challenge to pair up with it as well. Let the tightening begin (tomorrow)! 

postpartum confinement

Although my family has been living in the United States for over thirty years, there are some age old traditions that are still observed. Postpartum confinement is one of them.

"In Chinese culture, the moon month, also translated as “sitting out the month,” “lying in” or “confinement in childbirth,” is a month-long sojourn in the home for postpartum women. It means that following childbirth, the mother and child are to remain indoors, mostly horizontal on the bed, well insulated and fully catered to by extended family. All cooking and cleaning is provided while the new mother’s exclusive job is to bond with the infant, breastfeed and recover from the trauma of childbirth.

Part of this tradition requires that women not bathe during the moon month... This is due to the fear of illness or disease, especially back in the days when there was fear regarding water-borne pathogens..."

My mother claims there is evidence that if a woman does not honor the full moon month, she will be more susceptible to disease and illness later in life. When I question my mother about the scientific evidence behind this tradition she questions me back by stating “How can you argue with five thousand years of history?... Why would you put yourself at risk now that a child will depend on you? 

My parents were scheduled to arrive the day before O's due date. Because he arrived a week early, A and I were able to enjoy some alone time with O before their arrival.

I didn't want to be confined to bed or go a month without showering or washing my hair, so I took a few walks with O around our neighborhood and washed up before my parent's arrival. Immediately after their arrival, I was confined to my house. If my mother had the power to make me stay in bed, she would have. Ever other sentence out of my mother's mouth was the rules regarding what I was NOT allowed to do, eat, or drink during the moon month. After a day, I need some respite from my parents already.

Don't get my wrong, it's nice that my parents are here to help out but at the same time it's hard living under the same roof as them again, even if it's just for a month. The benefits of having my parents here is that there is always, and I mean always, food available. My mother also watches O when A is not here and I need a small break. 

The downside to my parents being here is that they, mostly my mother, does not have a sense of what privacy means to a married couple. Any time she hears O cry, she'll burst right into our bedroom. No warning. No knocking. Even if our door is closed. Another downside is that my mother has turned my clean and organized kitchen to resemble her kitchen at home. There are Chinese herbs and spices piled on my counter tops. My refrigerator has a pungent smell to it and the smell of Chinese food is leaking through my air vents. I could go on about all the things I'm not allowed to do according to this ancient tradition but I won't.

I know I complain a lot but the truth is that I'm grateful my mother is here to help us. I just wish I understood the rationale behind these traditions more. Thankfully it's the 28th already... I only have 13 more days of confinement and I'll be a free woman again.

mister oliver

we're pleased to introduce to everyone mister oliver s. shih. 

he surprised us yesterday morning at exactly 39 weeks gestation. he's a little guy but came out with a big scream. so far he's been a champion sleeper. he loves sucking on his hands and is a stinky farter. he's got mama's eyes and rosy lips but daddy's face. we are over joyed and also over tired. we can't wait to bring him home tonight! 

nesting

A is in nesting mode. I think it's finally hit A that baby O will be here in no time! it's all still so surreal to us though. we've always only been responsible for ourselves, then each other, and now... we'll be responsible for a whole new little human being. 

we're still trying to get the house together, room by room. first A worked on the garage. it was a three day project but he expoxy'ed the garage floor and organized our storage items so we have a functioning garage, a garage where we can actually park a car if we wanted to! next up, he finally hung the mirror in our half bathroom, which he's now calling the "bird room" because i decided to decorate it with bird prints. next he worked hard on painting an accent wall in our master bath. and finally he tackled the odd shaped closet (picture above) in our guest room. it's long and narrow and has a window. he cut the corners and painted it. today he'll put up custom shelving, rods and hooks. again, we're all about functionality, something this closet totally lacks simply due to it's location and narrowness. hope it turns out nice.

i've nested and i'm tired. since completing baby O's room, i've attempted to make the house more "user friendly" for A. he's never had to worry about hand wash or laundry detergent, so i stocked up on those items. i also tried to set up an easy billing payment system so we won't get bogged down with these everyday life things. i finally relinquished my california residency for a south carolina one and officially changed my name on my driver's license. it was a sad day but it had to be done.

as far as baby O, we had our weekly glimpse of him at our ultrasound last friday. he's still a little peanut weighing in at about 5 pounds 12 ounces. it's likely that due to his size, we'll be expecting him this week. our ob office is worried that his growth may be due to him not receiving enough nutrients. so if i don't go into spontaneous labor by tuesday morning this week, we get to choose his birth date. yikes...

watermelon

baby O loves watermelon and i've been eating plenty of it. i can eat a quarter of a watermelon at a time. whenever i eat it baby O rolls his little foot around in my belly. he's considered "full term" now as i'm over the 37 week mark. in fact, i'm 38 weeks and 1 day now. there's been no sign of O coming before his due day yet. for the last two weeks i've been monitored twice a week to make sure O is not in any kind of stress and is receiving enough oxygen and blood. i was also monitored to see if i was contracting at all. at 37 weeks, i had zero contractions. yesterday at 38 weeks, i had small contractions about once every five minutes. they were so small that i had no idea they were happening at all!

A and I have been plenty busy around the house recently. the interior is finally painted. i am slowly decorating each room and trying to come up with themes. O's nursery has a fish theme. the half bathroom downstairs has a bird theme. A's office has a very many theme. we haven't quite decided on it yet but so far we have our cow hide rug, deer antlers, rabbit skins, and a couple of vintage furniture pieces in there. i feminized it by putting a couple of hydrangeas in there though. we're not sure what to do with our bedroom but have decided to keep it open and simple, no dressers in the room. just our bed and bed frame. we'll be quite minimalistic with the walls as well. we'll see how long that lasts...

in addition to trying to get the house together before baby O's arrival, we've been trying to adapt to this new weather system we have here. the weather has been very tropical, to say the least. there's no shortage of rain, as it comes when it pleases. with the rain comes thunder and lightening as well. but once it stops raining, it's quite humid. it's sure a change from the dry san diego weather we've been so use to.

all moved in

we finally moved into our house last thursday but we are far from being settled. our painter has not finished touching up the door and floor trims yet and have missed a few spots even. there are boxes everywhere. we are still waiting for furniture that we just ordered online to arrive. the only room that is livable right now is the dining room which we've semi-converted it to A's office because of course the office does not even resemble an office right now. it's two chairs and a few boxes. the plan is to diy two desks from staining wood and attaching hairpin legs. then we'll take it from there in terms of decor. 

the room that we've put the most effort into is the nursery. although baby O will not be in his nursery for a while, i figured we should put something together so he at least has a space for all this items. i will post up pictures as soon as we're done and the crib is in. 

here is the chaos at our house...

this is all the furniture currently in the family room as we're waiting for our couches to arrive. we are still on a hunt for a nice ottoman as well. but again, maybe we should live very minimalistically.

moving chaos

so A and I finally have a move date. yes, we're moving again only after seven short months of "settling" in to our current home. but this time... this time it's worth it. we are moving into OUR own home! that's right, it's ours, all ours! so friends and family, come one, come all. we have plenty of space. now you just have to make that three thousand mile trek to visit us. 

i can't believe we are cutting it this close to baby O's arrival. by the time we move next week, he'll only be four weeks from his due date. we're hoping he'll bake a little longer so we actually have time to unpack and settle in before his big debut. fingers crossed that our little man is happy and snugly inside. 

now time to stop blogging because it's time to start packing like mad! 

let them eat cake

A and I have a cake recipe we've grown to rely on this last month. I've always hated dense cakes that are generally offered in american bakeries. due to the lack of asian bakeries here, we perused the internet for the sponge cake recipe. to our surprise we actually found one. A has baked this cake at least a handful of times now, so we know it's good! it's actually too good to not share.

baked chinese sponge cake

adapted from konichiwa kupcakes and tasty tidbits, where it was adapted from chocolate & zucchini. yield: one cake in an angel food cake pan.

it is essential NOT to use a non-stick cake pan for this recipe. the cake needs something to "hold" onto while it's rising. we tried baking it in a non-stick cake pan at first and our cake deflated despite us turning it upside down to cool. if you are adamant about using a non-stick cake pan, try lining it with parchment paper before pouring the batter in. it didn't work for us but it might for you. my recommendation, get a regular "stick" angel food cake pan.

1 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour*

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 eggs (at room temperature)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

*i've never actually purchased cake flour. i don't feel a need to. if you're like me, then here is a substitute for cake flour. for every one cup of cake flour needed,  substitute it with one cup of all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons. replace the 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and sift together 3 times. voila. simple.

the morning or afternoon of: let eggs sit and come to room temperature. if you are rushed for time, let eggs sit in hot tap water for half an hour.

preheat the oven to 340 degrees fahrenheit (or 170 degrees celsius). you know your oven and how long it takes to preheat. i usually wait until i'm about 10 minutes from baking my cake to preheat the oven.

first, sift flour and baking powder together 3 times.

separate eggs. make sure absolutely no egg yolk gets mixed with the egg whites or it will not rise. make sure the bowl used for the egg whites is clean of all oils too.

in the bowl with the egg yolks, add salt, vanilla extract and 6 tablespoons of sugar. whisk for several minutes until the mixture turns pale yellow. slowly whisk in water and oil. whisk well before each addition. fold in the flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time until well blended. do not over mix.

in the bowl with the egg whites, add cream of tartar and remainder of sugar. whisk egg whites until stiff, about 5 minutes with an electric mixture. do not over beat the egg whites. you know it's done when the peaks are stiff and stay up on it's own.

fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolk batter. mix gently until blended. do not beat or whisk. gently fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites, gently lifting the batter up and over the egg whites with a rubber spatula until just blended.

pour the batter into the angel food cake pan. bake until set and golden brown, about 35 minutes. immediately after removing the cake pan from the oven, invert the pan onto a cooling rack so the cake will not collapse, and let it cool immediately. 

finally, enjoy your delicious sponge cake with a side of strawberries or home whipped whipped cream (i will include a tutorial another time).

less than 6 weeks to go

today i am 34 weeks and 3 days along in this pregnancy. we had another two week appointment with our midwife today. baby O is doing well and his heart is beating in the 130s. we've known he's been head down since at least 34 weeks. he's quite active but it feels like his movements are slow and very methodical. he likes to scoot his bottom against my ribs. when he's lazy, i just drink two glasses of ice cold water and man, does that get him moving. my fundal height is measuring on track at 33 cm currently.

according to the mayo clinic, the fundal height is generally defined as the distance from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone measured in centimeters. after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, your fundal height measurement often matches the number of weeks you've been pregnant. for example, if you're 27 weeks pregnant, your health care provider would expect your fundal height to be about 27 centimeters. it isn't unusual, however, to measure somewhat smaller or larger than expected. fundal height is only a tool for gauging fetal growth and gestational age - it's not an exact science. typically, fundal height measurements offer reassurance of a baby's steady growth.

on another note, i've gained five pounds in the last two weeks. i blame it on the hot and humid weather which is causing my hands to feet to swell a little. my midwife confirmed, and stated that my weight should be fluctuating now because of the weather. yes, let's blame the weather for the five pound weight gain in two weeks. yes, the weather.

maternity photo teaser

yesterday A and i had the privilege to work with tamara from bump meet baby photography to shoot our maternity photo session at boone hall plantation. we ventured out into a field of red poppies and finished off the shoot by climbing an amazing tree on the plantation. i can't wait to see the remainder of the photos! i'm in love with this photo because it's so iconic charleston with the big oak trees and spanish moss.

baby shower photos

thanks to my cousins judy and bala for hosting our baby shower while we were visiting the bay area in april... here is a preview of some of our pictures taken by my talented nephew (who'll be heading off to college this fall!). 

this is me and A holding up a yardstick with everyone's guess on how big my belly is. first place? myself! i correctly guess measured my own belly size! my BFF/MOH came in second place. third place was A! 

this is my brother, me and A.

this is a picture of some of my cousins that attended. we took this picture in front of my cousin's restaurant because we're sad to announce that she's sold it. we had so many great memories and dinners there. thanks for hosting one last party for us there!

small is good

this morning we had another sneak peak at baby O, and boy, is he a shy one! this is our fourth ultrasound and we have yet to get a nice profile view of him. each and every time he covers his little face but we can see his big ol' cheeks emerging though. we can't wait to see him again in four weeks and then his big debut is just around the corner.

baby O is still measuring a little small for his "age." he's currently weighing 3 pounds 11 ounces, at the 24th percentile. however, we learned that from 35 weeks on, babies gain about half a pound a week. so at the rate he's growing, we should expect a 7 pounder. oh yeah, and his head is a little small in proportion to his body but hey, that's good news for me!

our trip "home"

after spending 12 days in california, we are finally back to the grind. not like my grind is any different from being on a permanent vacation but A's grind is. despite the time difference and jet lag, he was up and at it again by 7 am est.

we began our trip in san diego visiting friends and attending a wedding. then we decided to do a scenic drive up highway 1 to san francisco. finally, we spent a week in san francisco hanging out with family and attending two baby showers, our own and my bff's. 

it's tough not living in california but we're working through it. we already planned our next trip to san francisco in september! baby O will only be about 3 months old then. so despite being so far from everyone, we are trying our best to make it out west as often as possible. when i say the west, it not only includes san diego and san francisco, but it also includes the great northwest, vancouver. 

pictures to come...

last of our travels before baby is here

we are spending the next week and a half in california! we're so excited to see all our friends and family again. first we're heading to san diego for a wedding and to spend a few days in our old 'hood. then we are spending the remainder of our time in san francisco visiting family. our baby shower is also on the 21st, and so is my BFF's! i'm so excited to see everyone but not excited for the super long flights we have to endure. there are no direct flights from charleston to anywhere! well, most places.

i'm 30 weeks and a couple of days along now. we got to hear baby O's heartbeat again this morning. he was kicking all morning and his heart is going strong beating at the high 130s to low 140s. in another two weeks, we get to see baby O again to track his growth.

old wives' tales & gender prediction

these are fun but there is definitely no science behind it. according to all the old wives' takes, it's more likely that i am having a girl. WRONG! there is no doubt that baby O is a boy. he's shy about showing us his face but not so shy when it comes to his boy parts. 

below are just a few i've heard over and over again but there are so many out other ones out there. some are just outright silly. did you fall for any of these?

old wives' tale #1: the telltale carry. one of the most common gender-predictors is the way you carry your baby. legend has it that if you’re carrying low, you’re carrying a boy; a higher bump means a little girl. some claim that if you carry in front, you’re expecting a boy; expand horizontally and wait for a girl. i am carrying more horizontally. in fact, i'm carrying all over the place! i believe the way one carries is according to your personal anatomy. because i am quite short, my organs have no where to go but up and out. my waist size has expanded and my rib cage has also expanded for sure. i wish i was carrying in front! this old wives' tale was WRONG for us.

old wives' tale #2: heart rate decoder. this old wives’ tale claims that the fetal heart rate of a girl will exceed 140, while that of a boy will be slower. baby O's heart rate has always exceeded 140. early on it was in the 160s. at our 18 week appointment it was in the 150s. and at our 28 week appointment, his heart rate was in the 140s. this old wives' tale was WRONG for us.

old wives' tale #3: body clues. a girl steals her mother’s beauty. a girl causes acne. dry hands indicate a boy. cold feet point to a boy. a larger left breast indicates a girl. dark nipples are signs of a son. not sure if i look better or worse this pregnancy. but A tells me i look good pregnant. i'll take that as a compliment and that baby O is not stealing my beauty. i also have some pregnancy acne. it's not bad but i am getting more than when i'm not pregnant. no dry hands here. cold feet? i always had cold feet so it's nothing out of the ordinary. okay and the last two are a little TMI but lets just say that this old wives' tale was WRONG for us.

old wives' tale #4: ring test. using a string, hang your wedding ring over your belly. if it swings back and forth, expect a girl; swinging in a circle promises a boy. not sure if i did this test correctly or not, and i only had yarn around. my rings (i tried it with my engagement ring as well as my wedding ring), and they just sat there. i finally shook it a little and it swung back and forth a few times then circled a few times as well. i'm not sure what to think about it but let's just err with caution and say that this old wives' tale was WRONG for us.

old wives' tale #5: chinese gender chart. legend says that the gender chart is more than 700 years old and was discovered in a royal tomb. it predicts your baby's sex based on your chinese lunar age at the time you got pregnant and the chinese lunar month in which you conceived. the chinese gender chart says i'm having a girl. in fact my chances of having a boy is only 4 in 12 or 33 percent! this old wives' tale was WRONG for us.

old wives' tale #6: morning sickness. if you had a smooth pregnancy with no morning sickness, it’s a boy. if you were sick or felt really nauseous during your pregnancy, count on a girl. during the first trimester, i was maybe nauseated for a week but it's been smooth sailing since then. finally, this old wives' tale was RIGHT for us.

32

last weekend i turned 32. sigh. my sweet husband planned a great weekend for me. on saturday, we went out for breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast joints. he also planned a spa afternoon for me, which included a prenatal massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. for dinner, we finally had a chance to try the fat hen. the genre of this restaurant was labeled as "lowcountry french" by a local food critic. it was quite good. we'd definitely go back once i can try some of their yummy sounding cocktails! 

on the day of, A spent the day baking for me. he started off the morning with fresh baked blueberry muffins. he ended the day with a nice two layer chocolate sour cream cake with bavarian cream and strawberry filling. he made everything from scratch including the cake itself, except for the bavarian cream which was leftover from my fruit strudel experiment some time ago.

look at this beautiful birthday cake! what you don't see is that A painstakingly cute out a dahlia pattern by hand and used that as a template to cake a dahlia motif on the top of the cake. he first sprinkled it with powdered sugar but didn't like the way it turned out. he then scraped the top frosting and tried it again and again with a combination of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. he finally settled on using cocoa powder solely and surrounded the cake top with sliced strawberries. i do have quite a wonderful husband!

third trimester

we are in the home stretch, the third trimester. there are only 12 more weeks left until my due date.

baby O is weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds and 3 ounces today, measuring at the 31st percentile for his "age" group. he's a little small but as our midwife puts it, we are "small people" so baby shouldn't be expected to be huge.

we had another chance to see baby O in action this morning and he's a shy little guy. when we saw him at 20 weeks, he was covering his face with his little hands and trying to suck on his thumb. today at 28 weeks, he was covering his face again and trying to hide it in my uterine wall. i wonder if his behavior now will translate to his behavior in the future.

baby free weekends

our baby free weekends will soon be a thing of the past. 

two weekends ago, our friend from san diego, who now lives in asheville, nc, came down for the weekend. she brought along her newly rescued pup of ten months as well. it was a nice weekend spent at the beach and catching up.

this past weekend, we decided to cash in on some rewards points and flew out to chicago for a long weekend. not only did we get to catch up with a friend of mine from college but we also spent st. patrick's day with one of andy's best friends, and his lovely family.

26 weeks & 98 days left

i'm officially 26 weeks along with baby O. our estimated due date for baby O's arrival is June 18th, which is really just 98 days away from today! we've been preparing by reading books on natural deliveries, breast-feeding, and a book on raising baby from birth to age two. i try to tag what is important in each book for andy so he doesn't have to read about the intricacies of breastfeeding or whatnot. however, he is reading about how a husband can help with the birthing process. of course, everything that is written in books aren't 100 percent accurate or useful when the time comes around to actually use those techniques, it'll at least give us an idea of what will be facing in the months and years to come. we have so much to learn from our friends with children, many with multiple children now. we are so far behind.

i've been reading all about baby carriers this week. although we've already purchased our stroller, i want to be able to wear baby O from birth until he doesn't want to be worn anymore (which could be any time from birth until he's 5!). my brother and i were worn as children, and so were my parents. i find that La Leche League International has a ton of great information about baby wearing, and this site has a breakdown of the different types of baby wraps available. i've decided on the vatanai wrap. unfortunately there are only a couple of distributors in the us so i've had a hell of a time looking for the correct size in the print i want. i did find a distributor in canada that has a better stock than the american one, so looks like i'll be ordering from them. i can't wait to receive our woven wrap. here's a picture of the gorgeous wrap i'm ordering. it's the one on the top. 

oh yeah, and baby O kicked me in the ribs for the first time today! ouch.

crunchy mom

i guess with all the decisions A and i have been making regarding baby O, we will be considered "crunchy" parents. although we don't fall perfectly into the definition of one, we do plan on cloth diapering, baby wearing, co-sleeping, and making our own baby food. 

we received our first order of cloth diapers today! aren't they the cutest little things you've ever seen? although it's more expensive up front to pay for all the diapers we need from newborn to potty training, we will save money in the long run especially if we have multiple children (which we plan on having!). 

the average cost of disposable diapers for one child from newborn to potty training is about $2400. multiple that number with the number of children you plan on having. so if we plan on having two kids, we'd end up spending $4800 to diaper them!

whereas, the average cost of cloth diapers is approximately $800, which includes the cloth diapers itself, the inserts and the cost of washing the diapers. the cost of cloth diapering a second child is whatever the cost of washing the diapers would be, about $300 or so a year because you'll have all the cloth diapers you need already! the other bonus to this is that we'll be saving the environment at the same time. we won't be adding non-compostable disposable diapers to the landfill that will probably sit for thousands of years!

since finding out...

we found out we were pregnant in late october right after doing a two-week cross country road trip from san diego, california to charleston, south carolina. 

while on our road trip, we hiked zion national park as well as arches national park and several other places in utah. we spent some time in new mexico and texas. surprisingly we found good vietnamese food in oklahoma. then we made our way through arkansas and stopped in memphis, tennessee to visit "the king" as well as nashville and knoxville. our last stop was in asheville, north carolina to visit a friend before we finally made it to charleston.

since being in charleston, our lives have not slowed down one bit! A's mom came to visit for christmas and we headed back to vancouver, bc with her to celebrate new year's eve with her and A's family. i was about 16 weeks along with baby O at this point.

while in vancouver, we were lucky enough to be a part of a good friend's wedding too! here i am about 17 weeks along. obviously, this was not my best photo, but hey, the day wasn't about me!

although things have settled a bit more since january, i've been nesting. i know, it's a little early for that but a girl's gotta keep herself busy! baby O will either love or hate all the little crafts i've been making for him. i've spent way too much time on pinterest!

A and i haven't taken many photos since october. but here is one of me showing off my baby bump. it's not the nice perfectly round belly i had hoped for but baby O is healthy and his kicks are getting stronger and stronger by the day. so here i am at 24 weeks at ace basin, a natural estuarine research reserve. baby O really wanted some sun! oh, not only did we see an alligator that day but we also saw a bald eagle!

its a boy!

family and friends, it's official. andy and i are excited to be announcing that we are expecting a little man in our lives due mid-june 2013!

as andy and i are making a home for ourselves in charleston, south carolina, we have another little person to consider now. andy is busy building a lab and writing grants. i, on the other hand, am trying to adjust to being a stay-at-home-wife (and stay-at-home-mom, soon enough).

check back often as we will be updating this blog with our little man's progress!