23 Weeks

 

 

How far along? 23 Weeks

Total weight gain: 14.2 pounds
Baby Size: Large Mango (8 inches, 1.2 pounds)
Maternity clothes? My regular clothes mixed in with maternity.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Toss and turn A Lot!
Best moment this week: This has nothing to do with the baby, but decorating the house and getting ready for the parties we will be having in the next couple of weeks.
Movement: Yes, lots and lots of movement.  It's a party in the baby's house all day long!
Food cravings: Chocolate ice-cream and juices.  We went to Costco last week and got a variety pack of the Naked Juice, OMG, so good!!!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Some lower back pain.
Belly Button in or out? Starting to stick out a little.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy all the time and excited.  Except for those times when I get a little emotional.
Looking forward to: Again, nothing to do with the baby but looking forward to the many parties that we are hosting/attending this week! I love this time of the year!

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 Weeks (18 more weeks to go!)

Baby Size: Spaghetti squash (8 inches, 1 whole pound!)

Total weight gain: 13 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Regular clothes mixed in with maternity clothing.
Stretch marks? No.
Sleep: Still sleeping ok but lot more tossing and turning.
Best moment this week: Having Park really feeling the baby kick!
Movement: Yes, lots more kicking and moving around. 
Food cravings: Still loving the fries and totally obsessed with orange juice! I used to not like OJ that much till now.
Gender: Girl!!
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: Lower back ache.
Belly Button in or out? My belly button has fought a really good fight, but it's now totally flushed with the baby's house.
Wedding rings on or off? On. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy as can be! 
Looking forward to: Park and I are finally free to start thinking about getting the house more festive.  I love this time of the year!!

Nursery Inspiration

Now that we finally know we are having a baby girl, I can really start thinking about what to do with the baby's room.  I have been looking through Pinterest and found this for the color.



We will be painting the room with this light lavender color with, at least we'll try, the 3D tree.  That is if Park is able to make something like that.  I'm also looking into having some 3D white butterflies flying from the crib towards the window.  The room set up will be very similar to this picture. 

 

 

The butterfly wall art will look something like the picture above.  I am super excited about starting work on the baby's room.  We don't have that much time left so we better get to it!!

 

I'm obsessed with owls, so could not resist getting this!





 





21 Weeks

How far along? 21 Weeks

Baby Size: Banana (7 inches, 11 oz)

Total weight gain: 12.8 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes, but still wearing non-maternity clothing
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still the same
Best moment this week: Finding out if we are having a boy or girl!
Movement: Some fluttering here and there.
Food cravings: We have been making fresh bread lately and after our Thanksgiving feast, we had Honey Baked ham left over that I made into a hot ham and cheese sandwich.  We ran out of ham after 2 sandwiches and wish I had saved more!  Now it's all I can think about!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Feeling a little lower back ache.
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!


At our 20 week check up, we had a ultrasound to check on the baby's development.  So far so good!  We were able to see the baby move and actually saw the baby yawn!  It's so cool!  The baby was really active, moving the arms and legs.  Our tech switched to 3D color and we were able to see the baby's facial features.  To actually be able to see a little bit of what your baby will look like, is a great feeling!  We weren't able to see the complete full on face since half of the baby's face was pressed up against my uterus (I think that's what the tech said) but saw the profile.  I think the baby has Park's nose! :) 

The second best thing about doing this ultrasound was finding out the gender.  It took a while to see because the umbilical cord was in the way but since the baby was so active, we were finally able to tell.  And...

 

It’s A

Girl!

Yes!  We are having a GIRL!!!!  We are so excited! Now we can finally decide on what color to paint the room!  Now the next question we will be getting, "do you have any names picked out?"  Maybe, we have a couple of names that we are thinking about but nothing final yet.  Any suggestions?  Would love to hear it!

20 Weeks

 

 

How far along? 20 Weeks, halfway there!

Baby Size: Small cantaloupe (6.5 inches, 10 oz)

Total weight gain: 10 pounds, right on track!
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still the same. 
Best moment this week: Getting over my cold!!!  It was miserable few days, but glad it's over!
Miss Anything? Really miss being able to give my husband a big bear hug!
Movement: Still just a little fluttering here and there.
Food cravings: Sweets, ice-cream, chocolate ice-cream.  See a pattern here?
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, think the sickness has passed!
Gender:  WE FIND OUT TOMORROW!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Starting to get a little rash here and there.
Belly Button in or out? In at this moment, but it's almost flush with the baby's house (as Park calls it).
Wedding rings on or off? Still on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy :)
Looking forward to: Uh, the only thing I've been looking forward to since I found out I was pregnant!  Doctor's appointment tomorrow!!!  Yay!!!

I am also looking forward to Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to have the turkey, ham, mash with gravy, stuffing, maybe some pumpkin pie.  Mmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about all the yummy food we will be having!  What's everyone doing this Thanksgiving?  Anyone going shopping on Black Friday? 

I also have to give a shout out to my two favorite little girls.  Hi Big Girl & Bee!!

19 Weeks & My Birthday!

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain: 9 pounds after last night's feast with my family
Maternity clothes? Some, still wearing regular clothes for work and maternity bottoms on weekends
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Same as before
Best moment this week: Feeling some movements!
Miss Anything? Same, coffee
Movement: YES! Some fluttering!
Food cravings:  Nothing really this week, although I made some homemade fries and they were delish!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Gender: My aunt thinks I'm going to have a girl and Park thinks a boy!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: No
Belly Button in or out? Still in for the time being.  It is fighting a losing battle...
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!!  But I did have a couple of hormonal outbursts.  My family had been planning on celebrating with me for my birthday last night and Park found out late last week that he had to be out of town and won't be back till tonight and all of a sudden, I just started crying!! What?! Crazy hormones! And it happened again a couple of days ago when we were talking and remembering that he wouldn't be celebrating with me, got the tears going again.  Oh boy!
Looking forward to: Sonogram next week!!!!

And now on to my birthday...

Had a wonderful  and delicious dinner with my entire family.  Uncle, aunts, cousins, everyone that are in town.  It was great to be able to celebrate with them and had a wonderful time.   My youngest aunt (I have a lot!) bought me my favorite cake.  We call it the Chinese Cake, which is fruit filled sponge cake with whipped cream icing.  It's perfect for my family because it's not too sweet. 

At the end of dinner, we were served these peach buns filled with red bean.  I didn't try them last night.  I was just way too full after my slice of cake, but I will try them tonight. 





My 3rd aunt made me an entire pot of my favorite family dish, the sticky rice.  I can't believe I got the entire pot!  So excited!  I'm actually having it for lunch today! Happy birthday to me!  :)

4th Wedding Anniversary

Every year I say this but it is so true, this year has flown by!  I can't believe we are already celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary!  I can't say enough how lucky I am to have met Park.  I am so thankful to have him in my life.  Especially the second and third months of my pregnancy.  I normally cook on the weekdays but during those months, I was on the couch every single day!  He usually would pick up dinner on his way home or he would call for delivery.  He did practically everything for me.  He's such a sweet man and I love him to death!  Alright, enough of my sappiness.  Here are some of our wedding pictures that are my favorites. 

Our thank you card picture

 

Piedmont Park this time of the year is beautiful

Our wedding party

One of the best party pictures!  Thanks to our good friend Chuck at Chuckyfoto.

 

17 Weeks

Whoops! The baby bump is covering the H in halloween!

 

How far along? 17 Weeks
Total weight gain: About 4 pounds
Stretch marks? Nope
Maternity clothes? Some.  Have a couple of jeans from Motherhood that fits perfect and I love them.  Also got some shirts and leggings from Old Navy.  I'm so in love with the leggings!  I might just keep wearing them after the baby arrives!
Sleep: Still about the same.  Some nights I sleep great, some just toss and turn.
Best moment this week: Having a check up and finding out that everything is going great with the baby!
Miss Anything? Still coffee
Movement: Maybe?  I think I felt a little flutter but not really sure.
Food cravings: Chocolate ice cream from Mayfield, but I'm always craving chocolate ice cream...so not sure if it's from the pregnancy or just my love of CHOCOLATE!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Plain eggs makes me feel a little icky.
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: No
Belly Button in or out? In for the time being, but don't know how much longer it'll stay that way.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Still happy and excited! 
Looking forward to: Have a wedding to attend this weekend and hoping I'll be able to fit into the dress that I want to wear.

16 Weeks

How far along? 16 weeks! Moving right along!

Total weight gain: 3 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes, right now I only have one pair of jeans so I have to go out and get more!
Stretch marks? No, and hope it stays that way!
Sleep: Still get up once to pee, but actually slept through the entire night last night! Yay!
Best moment this week: Sleeping through the night!
Miss Anything? Regular cup of joe
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings: Loving the Welch's Mango Passion Fruit juice
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Gender:  Don't know yet, still have 4 more weeks to go before we find out!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Still on 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender.  Counting down the weeks!

15 Weeks

How far along? 15 Weeks

Total weight gain: 2 pounds
Maternity clothes? not yet but will need to very soon!
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: some nights are great and will sleep through the night, but some nights  I get up once to pee then back to tossing and turning sleep
Miss Anything? a regular cup of joe!
Movement: no, but looking forward to it!
Food cravings: french fries and pizza
Anything making you queasy or sick: no, so glad the queasy/nauseous feeling has finally passed
Gender: don't know yet
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: none
Belly Button in or out? in 
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy and excited!
Looking forward to: finding out the gender

What I've Been Cooking

  

That's right, my friends, we are having a baby!  And this picture explains why I have not been blogging the last couple of months.   

 

The day I thought I probably should have taken a pregnancy test was Saturday, August 4th.  My husband, Park and I were helping friends move into their new apartment and I remember telling my friend Sarah that I should have probably taken a test before helping her move since I was already a few days late.  The next morning (Sunday), I took a pregnancy right when I woke up and after I peed on the stick, I was reading the instructions.  The instructions said it would take about 3 minutes to process.  After I read that sentence, I looked up and saw this:

 

I didn't believe it at first, thinking maybe it was still processing and had to do a double take.  It still said PREGNANT the second time I looked at it!  Pregnant!  I couldn't believe it!  I took the test downstairs to show Park and he was just as excited!  The pregnancy was confirmed the following Tuesday by my doctor.  We didn't tell anyone the news right away because we wanted to be sure so we waited till I was at the 12th week "safe zone."  

My first sonogram picture was taken at 6 weeks and the baby was no bigger than an apple seed.  The heartbeat had just started to beat so it was a little slow, but just seeing the heart fluttering...it was so amazing.  I couldn't help myself and started to tear up a little bit.  Our next sonogram was at 8 weeks and the baby was about the size of an raspberry.  The heart was also stronger and just fluttering furiously! 

We waited another month before our next appointment.  When the tech put the wand on my stomach and I saw the baby for the first time, I could barley believe my eyes.  Last time, the baby was just a little jellybean,  now the baby's an actual baby!  Just seeing the growth of the baby after only 4 short weeks was incredible!  We were able to hear the heartbeat this time and it was loud and strong. 

I still can't believe that I am growing a baby.  Looking at this sonogram picture just makes my heart burst with happiness and love.  We are both so excited and have been having a great time telling our friends and family. 

Today, I am at 14 weeks and so happy to be feeling better and more like myself again.  I was fine the first 6 weeks of the pregnancy but after the 6th week hit, I started to feel nauseous.  I didn't have morning sickness, no, I had ALL day sickness!!!  I was so tired by the end of the work day from pretending to be happy and feeling fine, but on the inside, I just wanted to throw up and wish I was at home on the couch.  I do feel a little lucky because I didn't get sick sick (throwing up sick) but just 3 times.  And they weren't that bad.  Once I was half way through my 12th week, I was starting to feel better.  And now at 14 weeks, I'm finally feeling like myself again, minus the little baby bump.

 

 

27 Years!

A little over 27 year ago, my Uncle Popp who is a US Citizen, applied for the green card for  my parents and I.  The green card is an identification card that shows that you are a permanent resident.  It didn't take long for us to receive the green card, only 3 short months.  After we received our green cards, my parents finalized their business in Taiwan, packed us up and off we flew to Los Angeles, which was our first stop.  The flight from Taiwan to LA took about 14-16 hours, 6,888 miles!  I don't remember much about the flight.  I just remember when we arrived in LA, I looked out the window of the plane and all I saw was a sea of lights.  I remember thinking how pretty it was.  A pretty good introduction of the US for a little girl.  I think we were in LA for maybe a day or two before taking another flight to Atlanta, where my mom's family lives.  But our final destination was Waldorf, Maryland.  We lived there for about 3 years before making the decision of moving down to Atlanta permanently. 

I still can't believe it's been 27 years already!!!

Garlic Lime Marinade

My husband and I were down in West Palm Beach a couple of weekends ago visiting our dear friends, Mr. Sam and his wife Rachel.  Why do I call him Mr. Sam you ask?  When Mr. Sam first met my husband's nieces and nephews, they were getting confused as to why he was also called Sam since I'm Sam to them.  So we came up with Mr. Sam to make it easier for the little kiddos. 

Mr. Sam is a great cook, I especially love his hummus.  He made us dinner that weekend out by the pool of his condo.  He made this marinade that tasted and smelled so good that I just had to steal the recipe.  I couldn't decide what to make for dinner so decided to try Mr. Sam's marinade.  I'm so glad I did!  The chicken turned out beautifully.  YUM YUM YUM!  Mr. Sam grilled his but I pan seared mine.

After I finished searing the chicken, I took a pat of butter into the same pan and took the remaining marinade and cooked it down for additional flavoring/glaze on top of the chicken.  I served the chicken with a side of sauteed broccoli and rice.  I made 3 1/2 pieces of chicken breast and 3 small heads of broccoli.  I made enough that we both had leftovers for lunch the next day!

Mr. Sam's Garlic Lime Marinade

Chicken breast
4 cloves of garlic (more or less depending on your taste) minced
Juice of 1-2 limes
Olive Oil
Salt

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk.  Place chicken into the bowl and marinate for about 30 minutes.  Heat your skillet on medium low heat.  Add olive oil to heated pan.  I cooked my chicken for about 3-4 minutes or until brown on both sides.  Once all the chicken are cooked, place it on a plate to let it "rest".  Put about 1 tablespoon of butter into the hot pan and let the butter melt while deglazing the pan.  Once the butter has melted, pour the remaining marinade in.  Reduce the marinade by about half.  When the glaze is finished, slice the chicken breast and drizzle glaze on top and enjoy!

Creamy Garlic Pasta

I'm always browsing Pinterest, looking for ideas and came across this recipe and thought it looked good enough to try.  I was looking at the ingredients and knew I had it all in my fridge and pantry.  I made it that same night and the results were delicious! It was super easy to make and taste really really good.  It's also a really heavy dish so I skipped most of the heavy cream that it calls for.  And the next time I make it, I would eliminate the heavy cream altogether.

Nail Art

I have never been a big fan of nail art.  Usually I just like the nude or light pink colors for my fingernails.  But this summer, the bright colors have caught my eyes.  A few months ago, I was looking through Pinterest and came upon a nail art that I absolutely LOVED! I'm a HUGH fan of cupcakes and saw a cupcake nail art.  I was so excited! 

How cute is this?!

My cousin owns two nail salons in the Atlanta area, me and a few of my girlfriends had already made an appointment to get our nails done for our ladies get together.  I started texting my cousin about the nail art and she set me up with a nail tech that is actually a cake decorator and is really good at nail art.  I could not wait!  Our scheduled ladies day finally arrived this past Saturday.  I really liked the blue that is in the picture above but I couldn't find that exact color but found this instead.

essie's Mint Candy Apple

This is the color that I chose for my toe nails but wasnt' sure if I'd like it on my fingers.  I consulted with my tech and we decided to do the base of my cupcake with the mint candy apple.  I'm glad I did because the nail art turned out really well and I love it!

If you are in the Atlanta area and would like to be pampered and have awesome nail art done, check out Sugarcoat.  I went to the Virginia Highlands location and my nail tech was Christian.  She's so sweet and soft spoken but so talented. 

Virginia Highlands Location

My favorite is the Signature treatment.  During the pedicure, your legs are rubbed down with their own blend of sugar scrub then moisturized with Sugarcoat foot creme.  During your manicure, you are also treated with the hands and arms massage then moisturized with the most delicious smelling lotion called Cake "Milk Made" hand creme (which you can purchase at either location).  I kid you not, every time I use this lotion, I always find myself smelling my arms.  People probably think I'm weird or crazy for sniffing my arm but if you use Cake, you would be doing the same thing!

Hong Kong

I was born in Taiwan and came to the States when I was 7.  My husband was born in the States and his parents are from Hong Kong.  When we were first married, we always talked about taking a trip to both Hong Kong and Taiwan since I have never been to Hong Kong and he's never been to Taiwan.  We talked for several years of wanting to take this trip but the timing was never right or couldn't take the time off.  We finally managed it this year and we were both able to take close to a month off work.  So off we went in late March.  First stop, Hong Kong!

At the Harbour

On the Star Ferry

Once we crossed over the Harbour, our first visit was Victoria Peak.  You take the Peak Tram up 1,300 feet above sea level! The experience was pretty unforgettable.  Once we arrived at the Peak, the view across the Harbour was breath taking.  We spent probably the entire day there, it was so beautiful. 

On the Peak Tower overlooking the Harbour

Gorgeous night view



The next day, we went back to Hong Kong Island and took the bus up to Stanley which is located on the Southeastern point of Hong Kong Island.

Repulse Bay

On our third day, we visited Tian Tan Buddha right next to the Po Lin Monastery where we enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch.  This Buddha was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007.
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The Buddha behind us  

Climbing the 240 steps up but it felt more like a million steps!

On our last day, we went in search for the best of the best Dim Sum.  You have not had authentic Dim Sum until you've eaten here! 

When we finally found the place, the wait was 2 hours long!  2 hours!! We put our name down and went in search for some bubble tea.  Once we got our bubble tea, we headed back to the restaurant.  We were only gone for about 20 + minutes.  And so lucky that we did because all the names that were ahead of us on the list were not around when the host started calling numbers.  I think we waited for about another 15 minutes before our number was called.  While we were waiting for our number to be called, we already picked out what we wanted.  In Hong Kong, (apparently, it's not all of Hong Kong.  It had just been the ones that we went to) you write down your food order, like when you order Sushi on the slip of paper and not order off of the heated carts that's being pushed around.  We waited another 5 minutes before our food started arriving.  I have to say, we didn't take much pictures cause we were too hungry and just could not wait to dig in!

Our tower of food

While walking around, you see lots and lots of bakeries.  Yummy freshly baked breads and desserts. 

Angry Birds were everywhere!!

This last picture is for the car lover...

I call this the Batman Car

Stay tuned for our trip to Taiwan...