christmas 2008

i can't believe christmas has come and passed already. where has the time gone?

M took off from work on christmas eve, so we spent the day together and eventually headed over to my father's cousins house for christmas eve dinner with his side of the family. and i have to say...i love eating mexican food on christmas eve. YUM. =) afterwards, we headed up to my parent's house for the next few nights, where we celebrated the holiday's eve by opening up two presents (from the two siblings) and spending time with our family. we then got up early on christmas morning to open up presents. we then headed off to our annual christmas morning breakfast with my mom's family and spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon at my poppy and gramma's with my mom, brothers and uncle's family. what a fun treat. we then had a big turkey dinner feast with my parents and brothers before sending my brother off for his red-eye flight.

i'm always so grateful to spend christmas with my family as it always reminds me of how wonderful my family is. and this year i realized that i have been really blessed to have never missed spending a christmas with them. though, i have to say what an odd feeling it was this year, not have having to fly home for the holidays for the first time in SIX years. instead, i sat on the other end of the spectrum and watched my brother come down for a few days from USF, before heading out to MA on christmas night for games this weekend. what a sad night and goodbye that was.

needless to say, christmas passed almost as quickly as it came and in my downtime, i have spent much time reflecting on the year. last night, as we winded down for the evening, the husband and i reflected that this was our 2nd christmas together and that we will soon be closing in the first two years of the rest of our lives. it's amazing how time just flies by. i know i say this alot, but seriously. wow.

and lastly, as i'm sure you have all surmised, i am still pregnant. =) i am officially in my last week of the official 40 weeks. i am huge (and have pictures to prove it!) and feel even huger. i also feel like there is definitely, no way my skin can stretch anymore. since i haven't gotten a call from my ob-gyn's office, i'm assuming my induction was not scheduled in time and of course, that means we will be left waiting for the time being. while we are all uber-impatient at the moment and i would most definitely love for her to come ASAP, i also feel slightly relieved, as i keep sticking to the mantra "she'll come when she's ready" and would really like to "enjoy" the experience of labor and delivery without knowing when it will exactly happen. in the meantime, my little one remains out of this crazy cold weather (it was 29 degrees early this morning!!!) and nestled up warm and cuddly. it's no wonder why she doesn't want to come out!

i have pictures to post...but unfortunately, that will have to wait.

much love to everyone and thank you all for your warm wishes (both holiday and not), love and friendships. we are so blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives and not a day goes by without us thanking God for all of you!!

39 weeks.

well we're almost at the end of the road which is scary and exciting at the same time. i have to say, i didn't think i would still be pregnant come christmas time but c'est la vie. it seems that before she was supposed to come, she gave us many scares by trying to come and now that it's ok for her to come, she won't!!

we visited the doctor yesterday and everything seems to be progressing slowly, though the doctor says i am effacing very nicely. we are trying to get scheduled for an induction next tuesday the 30th if she doesn't show up by then, but we will see how it all works out. in the meantime, we have been trying to naturally induce with no such luck. i guess it goes to show that she'll come when she's good and ready.

nesting.

i am once again, nesting. either that or going crazy. which is a possibility. tonight (and by tonight, i mean after 9PM), i got the urge to finish up almost all my christmas shopping, bake a carrot cake, tidy up the house, wrap all my christmas presents, put together all baby's things for her car seat/trip home from the hospital, tidy up her nursery, pay all our bills & update our checkbook, bathe my dogs and do a load of laundry. and i took a nice, very icy cold, brisk walk around some of the apts.

and as of right now, i am hoping and praying the old wives tale is true... that nesting women give birth soon!!

on a cool side note, when the two of us originally became engaged, we chose to have a long engagement with a wedding date of december 20, 2008. we were pretty set on this date until we decided to run away to the beach and "elope" last november. nonetheless, we both laughed and thought, how weird would it be if baby came on the 20th, our original wedding date?! we're not holding our breath or anything but life has the weirdest way of working out!

38 wks.

well the visit to the doctor last night was uneventful and i am still very much pregnant. the doctor says his guess is that i'm dilated somewhere between 1-2 cms (about a fingertip or so) and the baby is in a -3 station. (a station is where your baby is in relation to your pelvic bone. -5 is a floating baby, 0 is engaged in pelvis, +5 is crowning) i personally like to think that she is in at least a 0 station and that because she didn't like the dr poking and prodding around, she moved up a bit...but i'll admit, it's highly doubtful.

nonetheless, the dr tried to soothe my (and the husband's) obvious facial frustrations by saying that women can go into labor at any time during this stage of pregnancy and that the baby's station really is no indication as to whether i'll be having her tonight or 3 weeks from now. he then indicated that he would see me next week tuesday "if i haven't had the baby yet." at this point/statement in the appt, i wanted to chuck my shoe at him.

so here i am, officially 38 weeks and still pregnant. i'm not complaining so much as i am just being impatient but whatever. the husband keeps my spirits and hopes high and my mom keeps reminding me that God has a plan and that even though we are all being impatient and can't wait to meet her, she will come on her own time... when she's good and ready. in the meantime, we wait!

37 weeks, 6 days

yes, i am still here and yes, i am still pregnant. baby b's official due date is in 16 days and people's predictions on her actual due date have varied. i've heard, "you are SO small...she won't be here for WEEKS!" and "omg, she's coming tonight FOR SURE!" unfortunately, the latter has been incorrect and i'm hoping the first prediction is as well. as for my prediction, i go to bed every night hoping that she will come that night. unfortunately, every night thus far, has come and gone with no baby. so that mama & baby bond/mama's intuition...not so good.

i'll be honest i always thought women who complained about the last few weeks of pregnancy were wimpy. i now have a newfound respect for them. how the heck do people do it?? i have no idea. women are godsend, that's all i have to say. i have become miserable. i am uberly anxious (like to the point where i shake and feel like i'm going to jump out of my skin), i want to sleep all the time, i am so emotional i sometimes i will burst into a river of tears and my hips are so sore, it feels like they are falling out of their sockets. and that's just the beginning.

i visit with the doctor this afternoon and am PRAYING for some sort of relief and good news (like maybe, "hey, your baby is coming TONIGHT!) i know, it's a long shot and there have been an uncountable number of  women who have done this for centuries and there will be an uncountable number of women who will continue to willingly jump into this and endure this pain and suffering. but BLEH. it's official, one kid is enough!!! ;)

buddha belly.

the side view

look at all those stretch marks...yikes!!

my favorite...the buddha belly

well, it's official. i am now full-term. or as my doctor likes to say "fair game." hard to believe i have gotten this far... 37 weeks. holy cow. life, or pregnancy rather, has taken on a whole new feeling and round of uncomfortableness. it's an odd feeling though...as much as i would love to meet her ASAP, at the same time, i really appreciate and love being pregnant and know i will miss the moments when she kicks and prods. (i will not however miss all the wacky hormones and morning sickness!!) while i haven't had significant, regular contractions in the past couple days, i have found myself almost as nauseous as my first 18 weeks, sleeping hours and hours on end...never quit getting enough!, cramping at all hours of the day and just plain ACHING! i always have found that my cravings have taken on a whole new level. the other night, i awoke from the middle of a dream at around 4 AM, turned to the husband half awake and told him, "i want orange soda RIGHT NOW!" luckily, he was almost comatose that night, or i might have made him drive to the store immediately! haha jk. kinda. i also find myself craving big, juicy cheeseburgers and taco bell. i know, healthy right? i try and convince myself that salad would be just as great at a big cheeseburger, but unfortunately, i've learned, cravings can not be tricked. boo!

that being said, every day has become a waiting game for us and i've tried almost everything i could to induce her naturally. every night M tries to coax her into coming, telling her what days would work best for him. but apparently, she has her own schedule and she's just not ready yet. i can't help but think she'll be here within the week or two but i guess that might be my impatience talking and really, anybody's guess is as good as mine! nonetheless, everybody's so excited and can't wait for her to come out and play!!

36 weeks.

i've been dying to update...so here will be the last post before the blog is officially set to private.

i visited with my ob-gyn on tuesday and must say, had some good laughs with him. it's hard to believe i am 36 weeks along. when i think back, it's been 30 weeks since i found out i was pregnant. where does the time fly to??

anyhow, back to the appointment, the doctor says i look ready to pop (which made me giggle in agreement) and proceeded to massage my tummy to get a good idea of what and how baby is doing. she is definitely in the "head-down" position, ready for her big debut. he made me laugh as he said, your baby is BIG (in which i laughed and told him "you don't have to tell me that twice, try carrying her!!) and he estimates that she is about 7 lbs at the moment. yes, i almost fell off the table at this point as well! i then asked him how big babies are generally at the 36 week mark. he kinda laughed and said, "well i'm not going to lie to you, babies at 36 weeks are about 6 lbs." i almost choked. YIKES! he then proceeded with "hopefully you have the pelvis to get her out!" i almost had an anxiety attack right then and there!

he then gave me instructions of what to do if i happen to go into labor/have more frequent contractions and told me that he wants to try and keep her in a few more days....after that, she's fair game to come out and play! he then gave me a wink and said, "ok hopefully i'll see you in two weeks...if you make it there!"

i can't tell you how fast this has all gone by! 27 days til her official due date...i remember when the countdown was still WAY above 200!! i find the two of us getting VERY anxious and excited about her impending delivery and always get a little giggle when i moan and groan and the husband excitedly says "what? are you ok? do we need to go to the hospital?" i think i get asked if i need to go to the hospital at least 10 times a day...it cracks me up. he is so amazing. so we are reaching the end of the road and this new journey of parenthood is sure to be amazing.

thanksgiving 2008.

i've always found thanksgiving week to be magical. i'm not sure what it is, but something magical or to be greatly thankful for always happens this week. i love it and it always proves to be my favorite week of the year.

this year (as always) i have so much to give thanks for, this blog will hardly be able to provide a home to all those thoughts, but here it goes:

first off, i'm so thankful for my LIFE. my life is amazing and sometimes i'm left in awe that it's MY life. it's been an amazing journey of ups and downs and i'm in such a great place in my life that sometimes it brings me to tears of joy. they say hindsight is 20/20 and i just find that to be a blessing. because everything has lead me to HERE, NOW and i'm just so grateful for my entire life.

i'm thankful for my husband. i honestly, don't know where or who i would be today if it wasn't for him. he has taught me patience and love and has given me more than i ever, ever could have asked for. i'm so blessed and cannot put into words how lucky i am to have not only found my best friend but soulmate all wrapped up in one. he teaches me patient, enduring and everlasting love every day.

i am thankful for OUR life. the journey from friends to lovers that we embarked upon a year and a half ago and the one that was sealed with eternal love a year ago. our lives are never dull, as we have so often laughed about and the journey is so much more enjoyable when in the company of loved ones. we have come such a long, long way from our individual lives and have come and grown even further since the day we took our vows. sometimes i can't help but look around and smile in awe at the life we have built...together.

i am thankful for our unborn daughter. this baby is sure to bring many smiles and be full of miracles to each day of our lives. i can't help but be brought to tears at the thought that the love my husband and i share for one another was great enough to bring this wonderful joy into ours and our families lives. every time i feel her move brings tears to my eyes and i can't help but just give thanks to God for teaching me unconditional love.

i am thankful for family, both mine and the husband's, though we differentiate no differently between the two. we're so lucky to have so many great, supportive people in our lives both near and far and we hope to instill in our daughter the same strong family values and morals that we learned from our cultures and many of our loved ones.

and lastly, i am thankful for my friends. i have found that this year was about learning who my "true friends" are and i am so grateful to have such a small wonderful group of people in my life that continue to love and support me through each up and down over the years. i consider it an honor to call them all my best friends. i'm thankful for the few unexpected friendships that have strengthened over the course of this year and look for to continuing to develop those friendships over the coming years as our lives continue to grow and be blessed with all our babies in 2009. and i am thankful for those friendships i have lost, both this year and in the years past. it always reminds me that some people are meant to come into our lives, sometimes for a moment, but can leave an impact forever.

i am thankful for so much and like i said, this blog does no justice to that. while this year has been absolutely amazing (and sometimes, jaw-dropping!), i will not look back in desire for the past but instead, forward in faith and excitement for the future. happy thanksgiving!

still a bookworm.

today i added this application called "visual bookshelf" on my facebook page that linked me to this site called http://books.livingsocial.com

i'm pretty stoked about it because i've been looking for something that enables me to link up with  current friends and share book reviews and stuff. GREAT way to find new reads and also to connect with other bookworms out there.

so go and join! and add me (email: hapahughes@gmail.com) so we can share book reviews!

AND here are some interesting book swap/netflix-like websites for books. i thought they were pretty interesting as well if you maybe want the books without the extra clutter!

www.paperspine.com

www.bookswim.com

www.bookins.com

www.paperbackswap.com

please note: i have not used any of these listed sites. they were just recommended by a local book club.

anyhow, that's my plug for the day! =) back to the world of harry potter and hogwarts!!

thoughts on life.

for quite some time, i've had a laissez-faire attitude on life. my thoughts are that life is made up of individual choices that are all apart of a much bigger, incomprehensible master plan. people make their choices and should be forced to deal with their consequences, whether that be now, later or in another life. among my many "life thoughts," i have never been one to dwell on death. my thoughts of death were (and still are) always positive and i try to look at it in the light that everyone is placed here on Earth for a purpose, whatever that may be, and some souls are done with their work earlier than others. all in all, i try and look at life in general in the most positive way possible, because one's life should be celebrated, good should always be done and will always prevail and ultimately, life is a blessing with the possibility of a wonderful afterlife ahead.

however, over the past few months, i have felt a shift in my thoughts and find myself fearing mortality more than ever before. it has grown from the depths of within with each movement and nudge i have felt and has grown stronger each day. i now understand that life is not only about me, but ultimately, my husband and unborn daughter as well. and as miraculously beautiful as that is, i have to admit, it scares me a bit as well. and perhaps i should clarify that the shift isn't so much of a "fear" of death as much as a more of a wanting to live. i recently read an interview done with nicole kidman about her fears of mortality and i quickly identified with her. though the age gap between nicole kidman and i is over 15 years, i felt as though i identified with her as a woman, wife and mother, which was so odd to me as i have never really, really contemplated life and death or felt such a compelling love and desire to live. i find myself constantly wanting and striving to be a better person, wife, couple and family and thinking about how much my life and my decisions (past, present and future) will affect this life growing inside me. i must say, it terrifies me at times and other times it makes me feel like i have an opportunity to spread so much happiness, love and overall GOOD into the world through this one child. i'm not sure where this is going or if it has any point, other than just wanting to express my overall joys/feeling on life and impending motherhood. i guess i never would have imagined being in this position, with these thoughts, months or years ago. but life, as always, is an amazing, life-long learning journey.

how i'm currently feeling...

this pretty much sums it up:

33 wks & 6 day appt.

so yesterday we met for our bi-weekly appointment where the tummy measured 35 cm. upon massage, dr had a hard time determining what position she was in, commenting that she either has a hard head up by my chest or firm buns. turns out baby has buns of steel as she proved to be in the birth position again. dr says his guess is that she is pretty big and about 6 lbs right now (which i slightly freaked out about) and estimates, by experience, that she'll be between 8 and 10 lbs upon delivery (insert brown paper bag HERE). even though the husband and i were both 8+ lb babies, nothing prepared me for that =) here i've been secretly praying for a nicole kidman 6 lb baby!! =) dr also said we gotta try and keep her in a couple more weeks...but after that, she's fair game.

we figure she'll be here by the end of the year, most making their guesses for mid-december-ish. very exciting and very terrifying at the same time. i keep forgetting that christmas is right around the corner...i need to start putting together christmas gifts!!

in the meantime, i find myself wadding more and more each day with bathroom breaks that seem to come, i swear, every 15 minutes. each night is full of restless, deep sleep full of tosses and turns only to be awoken ever hour to two hours for bathroom breaks. getting out of bed is a chore and i constantly have to ask M for a little "push" out of bed. sad, i know. i must say though, yesterday as i stood in front of the mirror getting ready to go to the doctors and run errands, i found myself in tears as i held my belly and felt our little one moving to my movements. it reminded me that even though this pregnancy has been hard, the outcome is so rewarding.

super saturday

our saturday was so stressful i'm not even sure where to begin or how to put it into words today but here goes nothing.

it started out very early with birthing class. surprisingly, class was interesting and we learned some new things amongst many things we had already read and researched earlier in pregnancy. i think the class made us even more excited and anxious for baby and solidified my thought that though i will TRY to hypnobirth (the latest craze) the drugs will be readily handy during labor! we also felt more and more comfortable with our choice in hospital and the nurses involved, learned breathing techniques and labor positions and overall just enjoyed spending the day together...and i especially enjoyed the labor massages we learned and got to try out in class. AHHH a little bit of heaven for me =)

this is when the day turned to a little bit o' crazy.

class oddly ended early (and i later learned for good God's good reason) and i realized i had many text messages from my mom updating me throughout the day that there was a severe fire near my grandparent's house in Yorba Linda and that she was now in the process of preparing to get things ready to pack up my brother's truck and evacuate their house. (my grandparents are currently on a tahiti cruise and reachable only by email). myka and i quickly made the 45 mile drive up to north orange county to enter what seriously looked like an inferno. the sky quickly turned to gray/brown, the smoke was thick and ash flew through the air, covering our truck quickly. 

we got up to the house as fast as we could finally arriving around 3:30P, where we saw dozens of sheriffs evacuating the areas/houses and plumes of flames/smoke only blocks from the house. i quickly jumped in my grandparents car to drive it to safety as myka and my mom followed, with whatever valuables my mom had packed up. myka and my mom then drove back up to the house around 4:30P and picked up another one of their cars and did one last sweep of the house. at this time, they started getting smoke inhalation as the fires ravaged closer. they got out ok and got as much of the irreplaceable things as possible. the fire had first started at 9AM and by 5:30P had already burned 1,000 acres. (as of 6PM Sunday evening, it has burned over 10,500 acres)

this is where the day took a more bit of a turn...

in the midst of the stress and everything going on, baby stopped moving and my uterus began hardening in almost a defense mode. i got a little nervous but paid little attention to it until three hours later when i started to realize that i hadn't felt the little one move in over 3 hours, my uterus was as hard as a ball and sharp pain was coming ever 4-10 minutes for over a minute each time. turns out, i was seriously contracting. myka and i rushed down to labor and delivery (our 2nd time in two weeks!) for observation. (on a funny note, as soon as the monitor got on the baby immediately decided to put on a show...turns out she's a big ham...but that's another story) the nurse then administered a test that apparently could tell her if baby was coming in the next 2 weeks which luckily came back negative (sorry deb, looks like no big baby debut on your birthday!) she also was able to tell us that my cervix is starting to dilate slowly which is a little scary but would not give me an accurate answer on my effacement and dilation in fear that an exam would irritate the cervix and possible cause it to dilate even more! i then was given a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions (ashley, i feel so sorry you had to have so many of that shot!), ordered to drink lots of water and rest and was sent home.

we headed back up to my mom's house to await any news regarding my grandparent's house and while reading the news and seeing pictures, could only assume that the fire made a crescent shape sparing their house from any damage, until we were finally able to make it up there at 4P this afternoon, where we saw that the fire crept less than 500 ft from their house. i cannot describe the emotion and shock of seeing the charred hills and the immense remorse i have felt for all those that have lost their homes. it is a very eye-opening and humbling experience.

here are some pictures from the OC Register that do not due any of the experience justice

a burning Deodar street house, a few blocks down from my grandparents house:

people watching the fire at Bastanchury and Fairmont, less than a mile away from my grandparent's house:

the ring/crescent of fire at the corner of Bastanchury and Fairmont:

33 weeks, 2 days

well, here i am..33 weeks and 2 days.

it's hard for me to see much of a difference in all these pictures. i know, feel and see myself getting bigger but to me, the pictures just don't do the changes i feel justice. nonetheless, i've started finding stretch marks on a daily basis, first on my sides (mostly on my left side) and now on the front of the belly and near my appendix scar. crazy. she's definitely low in the belly and the other night i felt her foot lodged in my ribs. one of my favorite things about being pregnant is lying there watching her move and imagining what and who she'll look like and what kind of personality she will grace us with.

unfortunately the pregnancy has been taking its toll on me and i find myself sleeping, sleeping, sleeping and sleeping some more. it's hard and i hate sleeping so much but at the same time, i just cannot get enough rest. this tells me she's cooking on high nowadays, gearing up for her big day. only about 48 days left til her due date, i cannot believe it.

random updates.

this weekend was eventful in it's own way as the countdown races forward towards d-day. the weekend kicked off on friday afternoon when i finally had the opportunity to meet with the little one's pediatrician. i must say, i was pretty shocked...what a huge difference from when i was a little kid! i definitely do not remember the doctor's office being anything as modern/cozy as that. luckily things went smoothly until i began experiencing sharp "pelvic pressure" and groin pains/cramps. the pains continued 2-4 times an hour for the entire afternoon and after a quick call to my ob-gyn, i was off my feet for a few hours and most of the weekend. while the pressure is still there, thankfully the pain/cramps associated with it have dissipated (for the most part) and we have now guessing that the baby has dropped as i'm carrying and feeling her much lower. as she runs out of room, her sweet, cute kicks, prods and bouncing feel more and more like body rolls as i can see much more distinctly where she is moving. last night we even felt a little bone stretch out from my tummy (and i must say, not the most comfortable feeling out there) for a few minutes as myka, my mom and i all made educated guesses as to what it may be...a heel? a elbow? knee maybe? we really have no idea but we like to think that we do =)

on another note, our baby's name is once again up for debate. i admit, the change in heart over her name (which we agreed on long before we even knew she was a girl) stems from me. i'm not sure why, i'm just not completely sold yet (i chalk it up to these wacky hormones). we agreed on a middle and last name but unfortunately, we're still throwing out options for her first name. i won't be posting them as myka and i have been slightly secretive in the whole process and are avoiding the whole "i-thought-you-were-naming-her-this" drama but let's just say, myka and i don't agree on much. =p

monday: 31 wk, 4 day appt.

so after the past eventful weekend, i called my ob/gyn first thing monday morning for a same day appt and thankfully they got me into an appt a few hours later.

it turns out all seems well...anxiety (which has haunted me off and on for years) is playing a huge factor in my odd body behaviors as i prepare mentally, emotionally, and physically for the coming of my little baby b. the doctor says the my blood work all looks fantastic though as we head into the last few weeks of pregnancy but that i definitely need to take it easy as i easily find myself (and he could immediately hear this in my talking) wheezing and hyperventilating without much exertion. the conclusion? i am hyperventilating and have anxiety. the cure? take it easy and carry a brown paper bag with me at all times.

sounds crazy i know, but oddly enough, helps so much. i've been trying to keep my anxiety and stress down...seems like everything gets me riled up these days and i find myself flying off the handle and breathing into my bag. funny in some ways, not so much in others. i also have found that i am constantly swollen. my feet/ankles ache and my very nice, slim fingers are like now more like pudgy sausages. and with the onset of the swelling i can no longer wear my wedding rings. this is the biggest upset to me as, coming up to our one-year anniversary, my wedding rings should be on my finger and not on a chain around my neck like a teeny bopper! bleh.

despite all this upon the massage of my belly, dr also said that the baby appears to have somersaulted into the breach position (although as of last night she must of flipped again as i felt her head and hiccups in my lower abdomen) but that she still has some wiggle room to turn and that it's not essential that she be in the delivery position just yet. i am also measuring at 34 cm. and while he won't confirm it or "officially" say anything just yet, this actually bumps me up 2-3 weeks for delivery. [ i admit, due to the fact that we were never really able to accurately pinpoint when we conceived and how big the baby actually was (due to her being in a ball during ultrasounds), i actually have been preparing myself for this for months now ] nonetheless, it is still quite overwhelming to think that a baby is full-term at 36/37 weeks and that women rarely ever make it to 40 weeks. if i am indeed 34 weeks, she is full-term in really less than a few weeks. so in the chance that she comes in late november/early-to-mid december we have decided to pack our bags for the hospital and get things ready to go.

as november pushes forward, seems like the days are going quickly and she is coming even quicker. i am definitely  excited though for the adventures ahead of us, the joy that parenting will bring, the family we will begin to raise and the growth our relationship is about to endure. what a wonderful way to close such an eventful year.

34 wk update.

i got to the doctor on monday as a follow-up to our long weekend. 

basketball season has arrived!

so, it's official. basketball season is here. practices have commenced, scrimmages played and the start of season is about to start. i CANNOT wait and as a VERY proud big sister to two of the most talented basketball players EVER, i am extremely enthusiastic to be home this year for game after game of college basketball excitement, as i missed so many great games in the past 6 years away in hawai'i.

and of course, i'm even more excited to get our little one into her own basketball frenzy and all prepared with her game day attire. so in tribute to her uncle blake and uncle kyle and their upcoming games and no-doubt-in-my-mind great seasons, she will be toted along and representing them in her own little way and uniform.

for those of you who have a hard time seeing, the air jordan emblem is on the beanie, onesie and two booties. sooooooo cute!!

saturday night in the ER

unfortunately, saturday night we spent the evening at our local ER. it all started friday night when myka and i noticed my legs were blue with red splotches after my shower. i immediately got off my feet, had myka massage the legs and went to bed. after a long night's rest on friday night, i woke up saturday morning just "not-feeling-right." i took it in stride as we had errands to run and plans to pick up baby b's last, and probably most important item, the carseat. but all the while it was hard to deny the fact that i was swollen and all four of my limbs had that tingly/numb sensation. once we got home and i started light laundry and cleaning for the day, i noticed that i was extremely lightheaded and almost passed out. i just couldn't deny the "i'm-not-feeling-right" feeling anymore and decided it was time to rest, take a nap and reassess. so that i did, only to wake up with a horrible headache/migraine and an even worse case of tingly/numbness and shooting pain down all four limbs. i continued to rest, adamantly denying the fact that a trip to the ER would probably be best for not only myself but baby too (who up until this point, had decreased in her normal movements thru the day). so off we went to mission hospital at about 8PM, where we were quickly ushered in and monitored and tested for everything possible. unfortunately, as we all suspected it would be, the results in the ER were inconclusive with the order for bedrest and a follow-up with my OB/GYN on monday. i then was ushered up to the labor & delivery wing where baby was monitored for a the next hour. (on a side note: what a wonderful hospital and maternity wing i will be delivering at!) it was at this time that myka ad i realized what a little ham our baby is as they hooked on the monitors and she immediately started jumping and dancing around in the belly. we had to laugh as we watched the movement on the monitor as i PROMISED the nurse that she really hadn't been moving all day. only a few contraction-like spikes registered on the monitor (the nurse said that the monitor was most likely registering her hard kicks and bouncing around instead) with nothing to be alarming. and finally we were headed home at about 1AM with strict orders for bedrest and an appointment with my OB/GYN asap and the order that if anything worsened or my water broke, to head back without hesitation. 

so today (which, by the way, seems like the longest day EVER due to daylight savings time) was spent trying as hard as i can obeying the order for bedrest. let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it sounds and is driving me crazy! things haven't gotten much better unfortunately, with sharp pains in my stomach now adding to the list, and i've gotten to the point where the baby kicks/moves so hard it confuses me with contractions. hopefully we'll be able to figure something out with our doctor tomorrow and everything will be ok. otherwise, another day of bedrest will drive me CRAZY.

random thoughts.

THE NURSERY: ...is finally done! it took a lot of time, thought and effort (and i'll admit, STRESSING on my part!) but with some patience, lots of improvising/creativity and lots more shopping frugally, we were able to piece together everything we needed, get some really awesome deals and really just make her nursery fit the casual, low-key style of "us." and i think that's what makes me love it the most. i keep trying to post pictures of what it all looks like, but unfortunately they just will not load...so the pictures will have to come in time.

THE CARSEAT: is actually the only necessity left for baby at the moment! i kinda laugh (in a very stressful way) as i think about how this is probably the most important in that it actually gets her home! nonetheless, i hope we'll have it by the end of this weekend which will lay some of my maternal concerns to rest! =)

HALLOWEEN: i can't believe it's here already. crazy how time flies. for the life of me, i cannot remember what we did last year to celebrate the occasion. the memory loss that comes with pregnancy kills me as i know we didn't pass out candy...bleh! this year we have a few bags of candy for however many kids might come by. i won't lie though, i'm secretly hoping no kids will come by so i can indulge in the candy myself. muahahahahaha.

baby b's nursery

so i think we are finally done with baby b's nursery...

 it took a lot of time, thought and effort (and i'll admit, STRESSING on my part!) but with some patience, lots of improvising/creativity and lots more shopping frugally, we were able to piece together everything we needed, get some really awesome deals and really just make her nursery fit the casual, low-key style of "us." and i think that's what makes me love it the most. i find myself wandering into the room a lot and just rocking in the rocker, touching and imagining her in all her little pink clothes or staring down into the crib where she'll soon lay. it makes me teary-eyed to think of how much we both love this precious little un-born girl and how much she will bless all of our lives. life truly is miraculous.

31 wks.

well i'm definitely feeling pregnant as we move into the final stretch of the baby baking (9 weeks til D-Day...YIKES!)

here are some pictures of the (huuuuuumongous) belly as it seriously feels stretched to its limits.

from the side:

and from the front (this one totally looks like a huge ball is under my skin):

i can seriously feel the difference of the past few weeks and i'm sure it will continue to get worse as she definitely is running out of room. faux contractions have continued each day and quite frankly i can't sit, stand or walk for very long anymore before getting sharp pains in my sides and back. and on top of that, i'm exhausted ALL the time (even after 8-10+ hours of sleep) and i have a horrible time breathing!! it's quite a miracle though to feel her move around and think about how this baby was conceived from just pure love. hard to believe she'll be here so soon.

baby hiccups.

this past weekend i started feeling the baby hiccuping. at first i thought, what is she doing?? then i realized with the position of the movement and the rythmic jolts every couple seconds of so, that she had the hiccups!! seems like it's been a common thing too, as she has them a couple times a day. so cute and so funny!!

30 wk appt

today was our 30 week doctor appointment. seems that baby b's been doing a lot of moving around and getting ready for her big day. doctor says she has a strong heartbeat and that i'm measuring at 32 inches now. yikes! considering i'm only 30 weeks and 1 day, i'm on the bigger side of the measurements!!

myka and i then asked the doctor which way the baby was positioned, seeing as how i only feel her in the lower left and right sections of my belly. we figured she hadn't turned head down yet and that she was still lying left-to-right. doctor surprised us by turning on the ultrasound and showing us that she indeed has turned and positioned herself for labor/delivery. she also is curved in almost a U or C shape, with her spine on my left, her butt at the top of my belly and her feet and hands on my right. we were definitely surprised by her length and the size of her head. can't say it helped much with my apprehension on labor though!

with the 30 week appt, we found out that we start our bi-weekly appointments. meaning we'll be at the doctor's office every two weeks until the very last few weeks, when we will be there every week. it's so scary...she's almost here and already growing so fast!!!

the beginnings of baby b's nursery...

so...this past weekend was seriously awesome.

in addition to our wonderful baby shower, i found an awesome changing table and crib on craigslist to complete the furniture for the nursery!!! the best part...i found the changing table and crib for under $100!!! AMAZING!! we were so lucky to have found both. and in addition to all that great news, we found them both in white...which means we don't have to re-finish the rocker & glider we bought a few weeks ago from children's orchard. i'm pretty stoked that our entire nursery was furnished for under $150, as myka and i are trying to be as thrifty as possible. and now all that money we budgeted for more expensive things, can go to other necessities!!

originally we had planned to go with oak and/or black for all the baby's furniture, but i'm so glad it worked out differently. the room looks so light and baby-ish. myka and i are going this weekend

to pick up a mattress and hopefully finalize the bedding/colors for the room. wooooohoo!!

here's a "before" shot of the room that we used as a guest bedroom:

and here's an "after" shot with the baby furnishings 

(pardon the mess, we are in the process of organizing/washing everything!)

as you can see, she has lots of goodies already!! =)

in addition, tonight after myka's big birthday feast, we went down to "babies r us" to purchase some more fun necessities for baby. we got a first aid kit, a set of bpa-free bottles for her, and a boppy breastfeeding pillow. 

then, we headed down to big lots...which may easily be one of my new favorite stores. there we found her brand-name crib mattress for $45, a brand-name changing table pad for $15 and the same boppy we bought at BRU for $15!!! woooo-hoo!!

soooo, everything is almost in order. we only need to find her bedding this weekend, find some extra sheets, receiving blankets, lap/burp pads and some other small things and we're all set.

today marks 30 weeks...10 weeks/70 days til baby's due date. YAY! we're so excited.

to myka...

dear husband,

it's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by. seems like only yesterday we were getting massages and eating dinner with family at Dots for birthday #28. [ yummmm sizzling hamburger steak ;) ]

as each of our birthdays, holidays and special celebrations throughout the year come and go, i am more and more excited with the fast passing of our life together. you are my best friend, my rock, my soulmate and i consider myself lucky and honored to have ever met you, nonetheless to have fallen in love and married you. 

time goes and years fly by, as everyone keeps telling us, and i'm so excited to see how the road winds and turns as together, we face the adventures ahead.

so happy, happy 29th birthday. here's to another year down and many, many more to come =)

i love you,

your wife

the baby shower.

this past saturday, my mom and gramma hosted an awesome shower for baby b, myka and i. we felt so blessed to have so many family and friends attend and share with us the impending joy of our little one. we're really lucky to have so many great people in our lives that love us and who are just as excited as we are to be welcoming her into our lives.

and with no further delay, here is a short video i made of the pictures from our shower, photos courtesy of my dear old friend bob kunihiro at rkphotography

poor sport

i'll admit, i'm a huge poor sport. i'm not sure why exactly and no matter how much i try and control it, for some reason, it always creeps up on me. and seeing as how i married one of the most competitive people i have ever met in my life, my husband doesn't help the situation. i remember one night while dating, we played the board game risk into the wee hours of the night because i was determined to win. we must have played 3 rounds of the game and he, of course, won all three games. i finally got so frustrated, i threw my little army men on the bed and stormed out of the room.

well bless his little heart, because tonight he decided to pull out monopoly for a little family fun. and i have to say, with the blend of his competitiveness and my poor sportsmanship, PLUS all these wacky baby hormones...we were doomed from the start. and monopoly was no different than times past, especially when luck always seems to be in myka's hands and he ends up racking up houses and hotels within a few turns. it makes me mad! and throw in these wacky hormones, and i swear, we were lucky i didn't tear my fake little money in half and shove the house/hotels in places that are not appropriate for the blog.

so unfortunately, game night didn't end up as fun as it could have been...with me pouting and myka gloating. (he'll swear he didn't gloat, but he always does, which just adds to the frustration!) but thankfully my husband still loves me despite this horrible trait and i'm praying that baby b has his competitiveness and not my sportsmanship!

28 weeks.

so we're officially in our third trimester. the other day we realized that baby will be here in less than 12 weeks. we were a little overwhelmed when we thought about how big and far along we were thought we were back at 12 weeks!!

i feel like the belly has definitely ballooned and each day it sits a little differently....high, low, pushed out, hidden. it cracks me up.  

my mom and i started measuring around the belly every weekend. we were shocked when we realized that i have grown 3 inches in a week!!

toasty.

i've always been a fan of this time of the year...as the temperatures begin to drop and you can feel the brisk winter weather on the horizon. i love it. it makes me look forward to the days when i'll need to bundle up in sweaters, scarves and jackets, with my face pale white with rosy cheeks. and this past week we've started to feel the beginning of it as temperatures have dropped to the low 70s-high 60s. myka gets as excited as a little boy about the morning fog and the fact that tonight he needed his sweats and sweatshirt to feel remotely warm while taking the dogs outside. so as we shivered on our walk, we decided that tonight would be the perfect night for something we've been looking forward to...our first, nice roasty fire in our fireplace.

and what a nice, warm, romantic family night it turned out to be for us. and when myka opened up the front door later on in the evening, yume and i burrowed and cuddled into each other more as a very, very cold brisk draft swept into the living room. the cold is just around the corner and we can't wait!!

these boots were made for walkin...

on a recent, unplanned visit to the children's orchard my mom, gramma and i found these and for $1, we could NOT pass them up.

how cute will she be in these?!?!

nesting.

it's official, "nesting" has kicked in. tonight, i got up and said, i'm going to clean the house. so i cleaned the entire front room/kitchen/dining room, had myka rearrange the entire living room, cleaned out the junk in the spare room, carpet cleaned a few items of furniture and just rearranged everything. i then scrubbed my kitchen down and "swiffered" all my wood floors. now to some, this wouldn't seem odd, like c'mon heather, that's called house-cleaning. and you're right, it should seem odd, only that it was like 9P and it's continuing now at 12:45A. in addition, i keep walking around the house envisioning where the baby's things will be set up and how i would like to rearrange things furthermore. obsessive, probably. i'm sure myka is loving it though, as i'm usually too lazy to tidy up and he does it for me =)  i'm so lucky. he's the greatest man i have ever met.

to add to my "mommy/nesting mode," we found an AWESOME glider and ottoman today for $50 at the children's orchard. perfect for baby's room and exactly what we were looking for. i googled it when i got home and it normally runs for about $150 so i was stoked.  as you know with us, we LOVE projects so we'll probably refinish it (it's white and we'd like for it to be wood stained) and maybe do something with the upholstery. i'll be sure to post pictures of it as time goes on, because lucky for me, i found my small digital camera tonight (thank god for cleaning) and won't need to lug out the big camera as much anymore for small things.

all in all, today/tonight was awesome!

i'm HOT

i think i must have gotten a new batch of hormones in because no matter what i do or wear, i am burning HOT. thank god this batch of hormones isn't affecting my mood...yet at least. hahahaha. but seriously, it can be 70 degrees outside and i feel like i'm in the desert and the temperature is 105. wouldn't matter so much, as i love the heat, but try lugging around a beach ball deep in your belly and it gets very uncomfortable. doesn't seem to help that a heatwave decided to hit this week after our rogue thunder and lightning spectacle earlier this week. bleh. so in combination with my scorching hormones this week, i am all sweaty and hot and want to be naked and in an ice cold bath all the time. and even that doesn't help. UGH!