baby c's room

our theme for baby c's room is "champ snoopy". we went the classic route, because both p and i grew up with a lil' snoopy in our lives, and the "champ" sports theme just seemed appropriate. we have some work to do to get it to the "model" picture below, but we had a tremendous amount of help this past weekend. thanks papa and mama fongo and rr. all three of us really appreciate it!

the inspiration...

our crib and changer...


the canvas for inspiration.

time to take the blanket off the window and put up some real window coverings. thanks papafongo - we know this was no easy task. it was almost as if we had metal framing around the entire window - makes for a solid house, but a big challenge in hanging the blinds. one window down...

we couldn't have done it without you...

week 31

you know what week 31 means? it means... we're down to single digits - just 9 more weeks to go!

week 30

dr.s' appt today, and i passed my glucosamine test... which means that baby c doesn't have gestational diabetes. woohoo! we are progressing nicely, and we're nearing the final weeks. that means it'll be time to see the dr. every two weeks, and we've only got 10 more weeks to our due date :)!

catchin' up...

ok, get ready for a flurry of posts to make up for the last three weeks. yes, three weeks...

the cold season...

dunno what it is, but for some reason this cold season seems like it's been more intense than it has in the past... and unfortunately p is feeling the effects (i haven't gotten a flu shot since college, but being pregnant my dr. recommended it... and it seems to be doing the trick so far). he caught something this past week and he's been "fighting it" for a few days now. so i spent some time with grandmama and grandpapa fongo on saturday, and fortunately p felt well enough to join us for a really nice, casual, and comfortable valentine's day dinner. now... we're not really valentine's day celebrating people at all - but we enjoyed steaks, baked potatoes, chinese chicken salad, and yummy amaretto cake for dessert (heart shaped cakes of course). what a feast!

but sunday seemed like a bit of a tougher day. so p spent most of the day resting at home... but i missed him as i spent the day out... church and then over to uncle's house for mamafongo's side of the family's chinese new year's celebration (and we're still going with the CNY's celebrations... more to come next weekend).

but it was really the homemade soup and cheese/crackers that p had for dinner that we wanted to share with you. we love the soft, laughing cow swiss cheeses that come in a round wheel of wedges. but when i went to the kitchen to get some crackers for p, i discovered that the only crackers in the house were cheese its. which, normally would be really fantatstic because i love the orange-ish, very cheesy cracker squares. but for cheese and crackers... it really just makes for a really fun food picture!

week 29 and seeing the light!

look at it! this is me...

we are getting closed and closer each day. baby cab is moving around quite a bit these days, and i totally think there was a day in the past couple of weeks where i felt him flip over... to be head side down. it "hurt" in a different way than it ever has before. and the movements changed - from consistent kicks down near the bottom of the left side of my belly - to include what i think are hiccups now in that same area, kicks in the upper rigth quadrant :), and even some "rolling" motions. i have to think this is because there is less and less room in there. so while the movements feel a bit stronger, they are also more varied. it's incredible. and of course, most often when i lay down to go to sleep... in my very still state... he decides that it is time to wake up. and it's just one big playground in mommy's tummy!

always room for dessert...

last week... d took us out to lunch for our birthdays. now, if you've never been to bj's bar and grill, you can't possibly leave without having a pizookie. and if you go on your actual birthday, you get a free pizookie. so, this is two years in a row for me at bj's. and also it's now two years in a row celebrating with a pizookie.

think - warm, freshly baked cookie fresh out of the oven in a mini pizza dish, topped with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream. and the whole process means that the center of the cookie is still in that slightly underbaked, warm goodness stage of the cookie baking process. yummy!

thanks d!

weeks 27 and 28... POP!

it's almost as if over the last 3-4 weeks, little baby besmehn's growth has accelerated to an incredible pace. i've been a bit slow with the posts lately, so i decided to put weeks 27 and 28 side by side to give you a visual of what i'm talking about. (week 29 not far behind...).

check it out...

so what does this mean for mom? it means... that stretchy pants are not an option, they are a requirement; 90% of the time if there isn't a seat on BART, someone will get up and offer me one (for a 10% example, last week i was standing right in front of the seats "reseved for seniors, those with disabilities - and pregnancies" and the younger woman looked up at me... took in my belly... and then continued to put her nose back into her book. yes, this really happens). it also means that i'm mostly in flat shoes these days, slip ons are best; i have to sleep on my side, and use my arms to push myself to the sitting position (what happened to my stomach muscles?!). i've been driving the suburban over the last few months as we sort out our car situation pre-baby b, and i've resorted to reaching up to hold the above door handle to pull myself up into the car. i wear paul's t-shirts around the house because they are immeasureably more comfortable than my own, and i'm trying to get used to being a bit off balance all of the time - which is a very strange thing for me because "balance" was such a critical part of my life for such a very long time.

oh wait, there's more. it also means that i'm hungry more often again - even in the middle of the night. but i've refrained from getting up to go downstairs to eat a midnight snack because 1) it's just too far and 2) it's just TOO cold at night. i have to be much more careful how much liquids i drink and when, and in the cute vs. comfortable battle - comfy wins out a lot these days.

i am embracing these changes as preparation for motherhood, sometimes i don't embrace them as warmly as others, but all in all i am still feeling great!

thanks to everyone for your love and support.

life

it's amazing how quickly "life" can just creep up and pass you by. like, where did the last two weeks ago? week 27 and week 28... gone. which means, 12 weeks to the due date and into the third trimester like a whirlwind. i have the pictures, i just need to load them up and haven't had a chance to do it yet. mamafongo said it's lookin' like i have a basketball in there. babycenter.com says that little c money is now about 2.25 pounds, almost 15 inches... 15 inches already!!! and he's also likened to a chinese cabbage. how appropriate that we're in the midst of chinese new year. oh yes, that "c" stands for something - we have a name picked out! big shout out to my mom's friend r for the suggestion. we fell in love with it, and now he'll be our little "cab" :)!

he's quite active these days, especially at night. he's strong enough to wake me up and he's establishing his new cycle. i have no control. during the last two weeks, we've actually been getting in bed to watch our last show of the evening by 9pm. by 9:30... i'm fast asleep. 11:30pm is the first wake up, 2:30am the second (at about this time p is finally getting sleepy)... and then from about 5-6:30ish it's really a toss up whether i'm awake or sleeping. but i've adjusted and i take on the days with plenty of energy. i'm going to do my best to take advantage of how good i feel, especially for the next four weeks or so. at least, that's what other moms tell me. i want to spend some really good time with p and really get into a better discipline about the hours i keep at work (i still haven't been able to figure that out yet). but my boss has been incredibly supportive, even standing at the door of his office at 6pm and wondering why i am still sitting at my desk... encouraging and even giving me a gentle nudge out the door.

i feel really, really blessed about how things are falling into place. i've signed us up for a childbirth prep class in early april and pre-registered at the hospital. and i'm still at peace and not anxious about anything. it's so unlike me :).

stay tuned for the pics from the last couple of weeks. and gung hay sun nien!