One outfit down

Yeah! At least the weather was cool enough today for Lydia and I to wear at least one of our matching outfits from Babystyle, of course. Anyhow, it was still sprinkling when we got to church, which caused me to slide in my left sandal, thus snapping the leather strap between my toes. So I had to walk around church with only one sandal on, though I probably should have just gone around barefoot, but at least one of my feet stayed semi-dry. Trung has been getting the camcorder ready for the big day (after I mentioned to him that it would be a good idea to have that ready). While filtering, we came across old footage of Lydia eating in her high chair and swinging in her automatic swing at about eight months of age. Ah, those days seemed so long ago, but we shall see similar days soon enough. It makes me sad though that all we have are memories (and pictures and video footage) once a child grows up, so we definitely have to enjoy every moment while we can.

Last Chances

I was hoping today would have nice warm weather because I had bought Lydia a summer-y outfit to match one of my maternity tops and we have yet to wear them. The first half of the day was a bit chilly, though it did warm up a bit later in the afternoon, but needless to say, we weren't able to wear the matching outfits. Maybe tomorrow will be the day or we may never get a chance to wear them :(

Speaking of the matching maternity mommy and kid outfits, I had purchased them at one of my favorite stores, Babystyle, which I found out today filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I couldn't believe it! I was talking to the store manager, who had opened the store three years ago, and it was quite clear that she too was surprised and upset. The store had a store-wide 20% off everything sale on top of the current sales, so I got a couple pairs of Robeez shoes for less than $12 a pair! After my local store closes, the closest one (and only one in Texas) would be in Dallas or I could shop online. On the positive side, maybe all my Babystyle maternity clothes will become hot commodities on eBay and will fetch higher ending prices. (For those wondering, I sell pretty much clothes and Robeez on eBay, though I just finished selling a bunch of Littletouch Leappad books which I purchased for 70% off back in December).

From a distance

Lydia woke up yesterday morning a bit upset and an hour earlier than normal. I soon discovered that she had a runny nose and her head was warm. Lydia's nose kept running throughout the day and her breathing was a little heavy, but she ate and drank well, and was still somewhat happy. Not to be selfish, but my main concern was me getting sick because going into labor is hard enough as it is, much less not being able to breath throughout the delivery!

Okay, so Lydia almost always gets me sick when she's sick and then she recovers, like, the next day while it takes me almost a week to recover. I told Trung last night that I bet that I would go into labor with Lydia being sick and that I would be sick, but God is good and I did not into labor nor was I sick...AND, Lydia woke up at her usual time with her usual blabbing this morning. WHEW! Her nose still ran a little bit throughout the day, but not quite as much as yesterday. I certainly like to think me breastfeeding her for over a year did the trick. :) Hopefully tomorrow Lydia will be 100%, I won't be sick, and Sophie will decide to come out...well, at least the first two would be nice.

Farewell

As I am writing this post, my brother Mike is on a plane heading to Dubai, U.A.E. where he plans to work for a year or two. He came back to Houston in October 2006 from working in Iraq for two years and then Dubai for several months, but missed the ex-pat life, so he decided to go back. Mike will get two weeks off every three months, but he's not quite certain when his first vacation will be since he will be in training for this new managerial position. We love you and you will truly be missed, Mike! Come home soon so that Sophie can meet her Uncle Mike and so that Lydia won't forget her Uncle Mike.

6 cm to go!

The day started off pretty crazy with me discovering a flat tire while at Target with Lydia. Since Trung and I share the car (we haven't really found a dire need for another car since Trung works from home), I had to ask my neighbor Bonnie to take me to the auto shop and to my doctor's appointment. Fortunately, the day got better when the doctor told me that I'm 4 cm dilated, so Sophie should hopefully be here any day now! I'm GBS positive again, which I figured I would be, so no postponing when I go into labor since I've got to get the medication going. My doctor won't be around Thursday or Friday, so I'm hoping to deliver just after that because I don't really want to be delivered by a stranger again (especially a good-looking gentleman at that!).

My car was ready for pick-up as soon as I arrived with Bonnie after my appointment. A nail had gotten into the side wall of the rear passenger tire, so we had to get a brand new tire. The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful with dinner at the newly renovated Threadgill's and an exciting Dancing with the Stars results show. I figured that Monica and Penn would be eliminated, though I did expect Steve in the bottom two as well. I'm glad I can always catch up on the shows on-line in case I'm out having a baby or something. :)

Lydia the Lefty

Even though it may be still a bit early, we think Lydia will be left-handed like her Uncles Mike and Sing. She has been practicing her spooning skills with great zest though she still has a long ways to go.

Too bad she was too busy stuffing her face to say "bye-bye" because it's awfully cute. :)

Easter time babies

Tis the season for babies! This afternoon we visited new babies Lucas born on March 18th
and Trevor born on 3/15.
Congratulations to the Hong and Tsan families on their new baby boys! Also, happy first birthday to big boy Blake; it's been great watching and reading him grow up via his mommy's blog.

Making new friends

Lydia made two new friends today...Sofia, 4.5 and Mona, 2.5, daughters of Betty and Yuu. I know Betty through her brother Johnny, who I worked with at New Era Life Insurance Companies during my college days and who still works with my Mom. After bumping into each other at random places and times these last few years, our families finally met up tonight and had a great time. Thanks for having us over!

In case you may be wondering how big I've gotten thus far in my pregnancy, here's a rare family picture...

Better late then never

I finally got around to making hanging letters for Sophie. I thought about making something a little bit different than Lydia's hanging letters, like with letters glued to a mantle, but I liked the look of the hanging letters better and why not stick with something you know (especially with limited time). So, here's my one day project...

Christmas in March

Dancing with the Stars

I am excited about the new season of Dancing with the Stars! With all the craziness yet to come, this will probably be one of the only shows that I watch this season. I haven't even caught up with Grey's Anatomy and Heroes yet...are they even showing? Oh, and before I forget, I loved Samantha Harris' light blue dress tonight. If I look like that a few months after having the baby, I'm going to get that dress! :) Okay, my early favorites to win are Kristi Yamaguchi and Jason Taylor (he's not as good as Mario, but he's quite good looking), but I love the personalities of Steve Guttenberg, Marlee Matlin, and Marissa Jaret Winokur and hope they stay around for awhile.

I had my 37th month appointment yesterday and all is still well with the pregnancy. Sophie is still facing head down and my belly is still a'growing. I did lose a couple of pounds, which is normal at this stage, but otherwise, I am good to go! Come out Sophie, we're ready for you; Lydia and Sasha want to play with you (at least Lydia might)!

Weeds

What a nice weekend...too bad we spent the most part of it pulling weeds. We had some mad weeds growing on the side of the house which I'm sure were hindering the growth of the new grass we just put down in the fall. The good news is that we are all done! Lydia was quite helpful; offering up kisses, bringing us the "trash" bucket, and even brushing off my bottom after I got up from sitting on the grass.

Today we moved Lydia out of the nursery and into her big girl room aka one of the guest rooms. Her new room hasn't been decorated yet, which I will probably wait to fix up once she starts sleeping in her full size bed or when I find a bed set that I like, whichever comes first. Lydia went to sleep for the night quite easily, probably because it's dark and she can't really see the new room, but I'm hoping the transition will continue to go smoothly. I was sad for her when she went to bed, knowing that she would never sleep in the nursery ever again and that so many unexpected changes were yet to come.

I am officially full term today (yeah, I made it!) and will be packing my bag tomorrow in preparation for Sophie. Congratulations to Yuri and Henry in the arrival of their baby boy, Trevor Kenji, born last night on his due date.

Fun with friends

Yesterday I took Lydia to her first (and probably last) Gymboree Play & Music class. She seemed to have lots of fun climbing all the indoor playscapes; she'd rather play off of her own than with the group though. It would have been nice to attend a few more sessions, but I couldn't really do all the activities with her like lift her up high to the sky. At least she got to meet some more kids her age.

Today I met up with Wendy and her group of ladies which included daughter, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law at Coco's for lunch. Lydia took to two month old Kaitlin pretty well; she's been seeing lots of little babies lately which should help her adjust to her baby sister.

Changes

We've had to adjust Lydia's sleeping schedule due to Daylight Savings since it's still so bright out at 7 PM. She now goes to sleep from 8 PM - 8 AM and takes her nap around 1 PM, which seems to be working out well. Lydia hasn't been screaming as much, but is going through a hitting stage. She immediately gets time out if she hits anyone; we've had to prolong the time out sessions because she still comes out smiling after a minute or two. Ah, the joys of disciplining a toddler.

According to my obgyn today, Sophie will be head down until I deliver unless she can find the room to turn herself around. She has positioned herself pretty deep in the birth canal, so she could be here any day now though I would like to at least make it to Sunday to be full term. Plus, this weekend we plan on moving Lydia to her new room and cleaning out the closet for all her clothes. I honestly hadn't been thinking much about the arrival of the new baby until recently while bringing out Lydia's old newborn clothes. Everyone has been telling me my life is going to be crazy, but I guess it won't really hit home until Sophie is here. Bring it on! :)

Lydia times

Trung and I have discovered two easy ways to calm Lydia down, giving her a massage (shoulder or back) and/or rubbing her tummy. We were watching Planet Earth and Lydia kept laying down next to us and lifting up her shirt so that we could rub her tummy...hee hee. Here's a clip of Trung giving her a massage.

Lydia has been learning quite a few words and some are even discernible, like cracker (crac crac), home (ome), and uncle (unc). Of course, she still knows more than she can say, but she's getting there.

Lydia rocks

Mike attended a conference this weekend in Austin and brought his play station 3 with him. One game called Rock Band (supposedly similar to Guitar Hero) is a multi player game and has a drummer, guitarist, and singer. Lydia has seen us playing and wanted to show us her stuff...

One month left to go

Today I was frequently reminded with an intense lower back pain of the extra load I was carrying. I don't know if Sophie was resting on a major nerve or something, but I felt as though my right side would go numb sometimes. Well, at least the Braxton Hicks contractions are rare thanks to my Obygyn's nurse informing me that drinking more water helps reduce them.

I took Lydia to her 18 month old doctor's appointment today; she weighs 22.8 pounds (25%), stands 30.5 inches tall (50%), and has a 96% head circumference. The pediatrician said that big heads are genetic, which is certainly the case here (my side, of course). Afterwards, we visited a church that has a Children's Day Out program. I wasn't impressed at all, though the location was really good. My pediatrician recommended another church where her children went, but it's almost double the price and it's a bit further. Next Wednesday I'm taking Lydia to a Gymboree Play and Music class, but really just for kicks because each class is only 45 minutes long and you have to stay with your child the entire time. The pediatrician also recommended that we wait until Sophie is two months old before starting Lydia at a day care due to the sicknesses that abound in such places, so we still have plenty of time to research.

A year and a half

Wow, time sure does fly...Lydia turned a year and a half today! I cannot believe my little baby girl is growing up and that I'm having another one. *reminisce and sigh* Lydia is a pretty naughty toddler though, so we've been disciplining her by giving her time out (she's quite the screamer and independent). Here's the view I had today...The blueish spot is a Mongolian spot, which is prominent amongst Asian kids, and the crack, well, I think it speaks for itself. :P

Okay, here's a little clip that Trung wanted me to take of our crazy gal.

500

Whoo-hoo! I finally received my 500th feedback and have been awarded a purple star on eBay. What's the big deal? Well, it took me almost a year to earn this new star color and my feedback score is still at 100%; I didn't think I'd ever get to this point. My work is done, now I can take a break and get ready for Sophie in peace...hee hee.

Beautification

Today was a gorgeous day, so Trung and I took advantage of the weather by beautifying our front yard. I had done some weeding a few days before, so all we really needed to do was plant some new annuals around our lone tree and mulch around all the shrubs. Trung mulched everything while Lydia took her two and a half hour nap; after she got up and had her snack, I planted the new flowers. The flowers are called "Orange symphony" and are orange daisies with purple centers; aren't they beautiful? --->

We've still got the entire back yard to fix-up, which including lots and lots of weeding. We might try to go at it tonight, but we'll see.