Browse Author: beakatude

Oahu: Day 1

We’ve been back for almost a week now and I miss being in Hawaii already.  I’m thinking I have to plan our next trip now so that I have something to look forward to.  KK is also missing Hawaii and sometimes asks “are we going to Hawaii today?”  Makes me sad to say, “no, maybe later.”

Anyway, here’s a recap of our first day…

Day One: 3/5/15

IMG_2846We decided to take BART to the airport, which meant getting up at the butt-crack of dawn and heading out before the sun came up.  Luckily everyone was exited enough to be wide awake at 5 am and we were out the door in time to make it to the BART station for the 6:40 am train.  I’m also lucky that our kid loves to ride public transportation and was well-behaved on all our transfers and on the actual trains too.

IMG_2849At the airport, the lady allowed us to go through the priority check-in line, which was super short and fast.  They didn’t even check our milk!  That gave us lots of time for breakfast and a bloody mary for Jes.  He asked for the celery on the side for KK.

IMG_2868Our flight was a pretty typical flight to Hawaii.  It lasted a little over 5 hours and KK was a champ.  I attribute it mostly to the fact that we deprived her of Finding Nemo and Chip and Dale cartoons for the past month.

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She watched Finding Nemo twice through and even took a 1.5-hour-long nap.

IMG_2869They served a light breakfast of fruit and cheese, which was good but I’m so glad we ate at the airport.  Meanwhile, Jes stuck to a one-drink-per-hour policy that we had agreed on beforehand and got 4 out of 5 drinks on the house!  The flight attendant totally hooked him up!

IMG_2879We arrived a little after noon with minimal turbulence.

IMG_3793At the airport, we were all smiles and it was so nice to see my family waiting for us at baggage claim.  They had arrived around the same time. It took a little while to pick up our rental cars but there was still plenty of sunshine left in the day.

IMG_2894Our first stop is always Ramen Nakamura.  We were all starving by then.  Somehow we managed to get seats for all 8 of us.

IMG_2114It was a fantastic first meal and even Alice got into it!

IMG_2904At the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised with our “City View” room.  It had a partial view of the ocean from the lanai!

IMG_2907After washing up, KK REALLY wanted to go play in the sand.  Jes was napping so we went down to get Bubbies mochi ice cream from the general store downstairs and then headed to the sand!  The weather was so nice and the water was actually pretty warm.

IMG_3869 IMG_3870My dad and brother also joined us and we played until the sun went down.

IMG_3883You really gotta love Hawaiian sunsets!!

IMG_2125IMG_2954For dinner, everyone went separate ways.  KK passed out in the stroller as we walked to dinner, so Jes and I had a quiet dinner at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin.  It’s a small place but the host was nice enough to find a spot for us to eat and tuck KK away under the bar.    IMG_2958I had a tasty katsu don with a soft egg that oozed all over the rice.  Deeeelicious!

Half-cooked!

IMG_3417I am now 20 weeks pregnant, marking the half-way point of this adventure.  Just before leaving for Hawaii, people at work had started noticing a more distinguishable bump and I’ve gone into full-maternity-wardrobe mode.

When we came back from our trip, I had the day after off so that I could get the anatomy ultrasound done.  It was a long one and they had to look for just about every body part you could imagine.  The little stinker decided to hide his face the whole time so they couldn’t get a good look at his nose, lips, and hands.

IMG_3764We did, however, get confirmation that he is indeed a little boy with little boy parts.  If you don’t know what you’re looking at, the important “part” is to the left in between his butt cheeks.  The technician also typed in “IT’S A BOY!!!!”

IMG_3554We also got a backside view of his head while he was hiding from the camera.

IMG_3763The docs were so dissatisfied with this visit that I had to make a follow-up appointment a week later.  So, I went back this morning and after 30 minutes of trying to prod him out of hiding, we got a profile.  It’s the not the best but it’s all we could get.  What you’re seeing here is his chin, lip, nose, and forehead (left to right).  He kept putting his arms over his face or turning away from the ultrasound.  I’m just happy that they got a good look at his lips and nose and confirmed that he doesn’t not have a cleft.

IMG_3759I also got a picture of his little foot.  So cute.

I’m finally feeling some real kicks and he seems to like being in the head-down position.  That’s how they found him both times I had these recent ultrasounds.  He’s estimated to be about 12 ounces and a little ahead of schedule.  I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight (I had lost some weight until now) and will just wait to see how much bigger and heavier I get in the next 20 more weeks.  This week, my sinuses have been horrible – causing jaw pain on my right side.  I guess it also didn’t help that I caught a cold mid-way through our trip.  All in all, I’m feeling pretty good and happy to see that our Genetic Screen came back negative and that all body parts are accounted for and within normal limits.  Now I’ll just have to let him finish cooking!

Peanut Update

So it’s Week 18 and I’ve been told that I have finally started to look fully preggo.  I’m starting to feel tiny flutters inside and I’ve had to pull out my maternity clothes from the first round.  Good thing I kept everything.  I still haven’t gained any weight, which worries me a bit but there’s definitely something growing because the belly is firm and round now.  Or maybe I have a tumor.  Whatever it is, it’s making me uncomfortable when I sleep at night and my back is starting to feel it too.  The congestion is the same but Breathe Right strips are now my best friends at night.  I also got a steroid nasal spray from my doc but I haven’t used it yet.  The headaches have subsided a bit and I’m feeling pretty good overall.  Next ultrasound is on March 11th.

Pretty soon I won’t be able to pick up or carry KK like I do now and she’s probably gonna hate it.  Regardless, she knows why my tummy is getting bigger and sometimes she’ll point to it and say, “baby brother’s in there”. It’s hard to believe that I’m almost at the half-way point already.  So glad we are heading to Hawaii on Thursday.  It’s the next best thing to a babymoon.  The grandparents, Brother, Joy, and Alice are joining us so I may get to relax a little more than I usually do on a family trip with KK.  Only 4 more months of work before I can take a break and get ready for our newest member of the family.  Can’t wait.

Lunar New Year

IMG_2792We had a late celebration this year with the usual animals.  We met up with the Bangs and Sokol-Juns at Yank Sing on Sunday for some dim sum and catching up.  It’s fun seeing all 5 kids interact with each other nowadays.  Mei-mei follows KK around.  Rowan follows Jack around.  Reese plays with everyone.

IMG_2773Jack tried chicken feet for the first time and needed a little practice with separating the meat from the bones.

IMG_2775It was nice to have place where the grown-ups could have a good meal together while the kids had a place to roam and be kids.  We were seated out in the atrium where their noises blended in with everything else.

IMG_2797Happy Year of the Ram!  Next year, Peanut will be added to this photo.

Yum.

IMG_2291I like French macarons but this yummiest one I’ve had in a while.  It’s lemon yuzu from Tout Sweet: light, tart, and so tasty.

1st Trimester

I’m in the middle of Week 13 and nearing the end of the 1st Trimester.  It went by pretty quickly and was rather uneventful.  I didn’t have any real nausea with the exception of just feeling gross after eating sometimes.  I’m not really showing yet but I certainly feel bigger and lost about 3 pounds at the same time. It’s much easier to run this time around versus the first time I was pregnant.  I’m congested as ever (like last time) and I’m not sleeping through the night.  Naps are nice when I get the chance and I’ve gotten light-headed a couple times at work. The worst symptom I’ve had are these weird headaches that don’t go away very easily.

We had another ultrasound today at the brand-new UCSF hospital just down the street from our house.  It’s not actually open until next week but the diagnostic center was and we were there for their first day.

IMG_2049Here is the front of the new hospital where I will deliver Baby #2.  It’ll be cool to see if the post-partum room will be any cooler than the one we had at the old Parnassus campus, which I thought was pretty nice too.

IMG_2052The ultrasound was pretty long and everything looked pretty good to the technician.  This is one of the photos she printed out for us.  He was wiggling and turning over a few times throughout the exam – fun to watch.  We saw two arms, two legs, his stomach, his bladder, and a strong-beating heart.  He is 7.88 cm long from head to butt and has grown a lot in the past 3 weeks since our last measurement. I’m happy to see that little peanut is alive and well in there.  I can’t wait to feel him kicking.