beakatude – Page 28

Still got it.

By beakatude
on Jan 25, 2015
in go beak go, outings, peanut, photos

This morning, I went for a solo run. I didn’t know how far I would be able to go since I had only been running with the stroller this past month. On my way down toward the Ferry Building, the sun was rising.

I got a very cool view of the sun coming up as I went under the bridge and caught a few photos of the bay. You can click the panaramic photo to get the full size.

I ran most of the way and finished 3 miles in 37 minutes. Yes, it’s a snail’s pace but I finished and didn’t feel too bad considering I’m 13 weeks preggo. For some reason, running doesn’t bother my bladder so much this time around. I remember running with KK and felt like I had to pee the whole way. Anyway, I’m happy to know that I can still run comfortably. I also know now that I need a fat nap afterward because that’s what I did a couple hours later – fell asleep around 10 and didn’t wake up until after 12.

Year in Review 2014

By beakatude
on Jan 11, 2015
in life

2014 seemed to pass me by so quickly. Is this just a sign of getting old? Or maybe I’ve been so distracted by the 2-year-old in my house that I haven’t been able to keep up? Nonetheless, it has been a fun year.

Best Vacation:
Hawaii in April. I know it’s been my favorite vacation every year but there was something extra special about this one. Here are my thoughts:

1) KK was old enough to really enjoy and remember her time there. She also conquered her fear of Mr. Ocean and loved playing at the beach.

2) We celebrated a dear friend’s wedding. Yoon and Kurt got married and threw a really fun party afterward.

3) Because it was a wedding trip, we got to vacation with all of our closest and oldest friends. The last time we traveled together as a large group was probably in 2001 in Tahoe. Some had kids and almost everyone is married now. It could very well be our last big trip all together.

Worst Vacation Moment:
The worst vacation moment was when we had to wait in a 3-hour line to get through immigration in Puerto Vallarta Airport. It was Christmas Day and some workers decided to play hooky unexpectedly.

Coolest Vacation Moment:
When we went to Tahoe for a long weekend, we sat on the beach under a tent in the middle of a thunderstorm. It went from pouring rain to sunshine within minutes of each other. Very cool.

Best Meal:
Mother’s Day dinner at Saison. It was right across the street from our house and had lots of interesting flavor combinations in the tasting menu that I hadn’t tried before. It was also hands down our most expensive meal of the year.

Worst Meal:
I can’t really think of any. I’d have to say I ate well in 2014.

Favorite TV Shows:
Once Upon a Time, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, Selfie (un-aired episodes are on Hulu!), and Downton Abbey – the first three are also KK’s favorites. She calls them “Elsa and Anna”, “Dancing”, and “Cooking”.

Biggest Failure:
Fortunately, I have none to report this year.

Biggest Accomplishment:
After a whole year of trying, we finally got a positive pregnancy test at the end of November. KK is going to be a big sister and I think she’s ready.

We did a lot this past year and yet it seemed like we were just chugging along steadily. Work has been stable for both of us and Jes went on a business trip to Europe in 2014. KK also went on her first international trip and got a couple stamps on her first passport. We’ve all been pretty healthy and Jia and Jason are expecting twins this year! It’s gonna be a crazy 2015!!

Round 2

By beakatude
on Jan 10, 2015
in babies, family, life, peanut, projects

We have big news: I’m 11 weeks pregnant and it’s a boy!! Our estimated due date is August 1st.

Here is a picture of him as a hatched blastocyst. At that point, he was just a ball of cells.

On 11/23/14, I went in for my blood test and it was positive! On 12/15/14, I had my first ultrasound, which confirmed that there was something growing inside. He had a strong heart beat and was just under a centimeter long. If you can’t tell, the embryo is that little bean-shaped thing hanging from the top of the black circle.

On Friday, I had my 10-week ultrasound and the little guy waved to me! He has 4 limbs and actually looked like baby. This is the side view.

We also got a front view with all his limbs showing. Again, there was a strong heart beat and he had tripled in size over the last 3 weeks! No wonder I’ve been feeling so fat.

For those who are interested, I thought I’d write a little about our year-long baby project. Don’t read this part if this stuff grosses you out or if it’s TMI.

It all started last January (2014) when we decided to start trying for #2. I went back to PFC (the clinic where we got help for KK) and my doctor said that we wouldn’t have to change the game plan. The problem that I have with conceiving naturally is that my pituitary gland is lazy and doesn’t produce the hormone that signals the release of the egg from my ovaries. So, without medical intervention, we would still be child-less.

We started with IUI, which is the least invasive method that involves ultrasounds to figure out when my follicles were mature and taking medicine to help the mature egg get released. That’s how we conceived KK. Well, after 4 failed attempts, my doctor advised us to go to the next step, which was IVF. He said the reason why IUI wasn’t working was likely due to the age of my eggs and that most would not survive because of genetic problems. Essentially, each time we tried, I miscarried because of a genetic problem. I took a long break and it happened to coincide with our trip to Hawaii. It was a GREAT time to be off meds and to be able to eat and drink freely. I’d consider that my last hurrah.

We started the IVF process in the summer after I took a month off of meds and intervention. This process was WAY more invasive and costly. We had to go through a consent and counseling process before I could even order my meds. The meds included lots of injectables plus the oral meds that I was already taking.

The first step was to get my eggs to grow. I had to get all these hormones injected every night. Fortunately, Jesse was able to do all the injections and most of them didn’t hurt too much. It was just an intense couple weeks of at least 2-3 injections in my belly per night and a giant needle one in my butt the night before the eggs were harvested. I had at least 5 ultrasounds and blood draws throughout this month to monitor the progress of my follicles. By the end of the process, I was pretty uncomfortable because it was like carrying two sacs of marbles in my abdomen.

On 9/9/14, they harvested the eggs (I was sedated) and they retrieved 35 eggs! Whoa. I guess my supply is not the problem. I was so bloated for the following week and looked 16 weeks pregnant. This was probably the worst part of the whole process. Once the oocytes were harvested, they were fertilized in the lab and over the next 8 days, they were each analyzed and given a rating. By the end of the 8 days, we had 11 good embyros to biopsy. That’s a crazy attrition rate.

The next step was for the genetic testing to be done. They biopsied each of the embryos to check for genetic abnormalities. All the embryos that had anything other than 46 chromosomes were discarded. We took this extra step to increase our chances of a viable embryo. It also weeded out the most common problems with old eggs, including Trisomy 21 (Downs’ Syndrome). As a bi-product of the genetic testing, we also knew the gender of each embryo. After the biopsies, we got 4 embryos with 46 chromosomes: 2 boys and 2 girls. We were hoping for a boy and the best-looking embryo turned out to be a boy. So, that’s what the doctor decided to implant. They were frozen for a month while I had to get physically ready, which involved a rest month and then starting the injections again.

The final step was the implantation, which occurred on 11/14/14. I was awake for this procedure and watched on the ultrasound screen how they released the defrosted embryo with a catheter. Two weeks later, I had a blood test and the rest is history!

I know this was a really unnatural process but it’s just the path we had to take. It also takes a little bit of stress and guessing out of this round since we can be a little more confident of the gender and health of this kid so we can start donating/giving away KK’s girly stuff.

Oh and after my last ultrasound, the doctor said “congratulations, you’ve graduated!” The nurse also handed me a gift: a pregnancy book and a cute onesie that says “Made in San Francisco”. Haha. Funny.

Happy New Year!

By beakatude
on Jan 01, 2015
in holidays, outings

Is it really 2015 already?! Jes and I were just talking about how it’s been 15 years since we rang in the new millennium in Las Vegas. This year, we decided to go out for NYE. We didn’t go to a party or get wasted but instead we walked down to the Embarcadero where they were going to have a fireworks show over the water.

We got there a little after 10 and set-up camp on the grass.

KK was bundled up and asleep by the time we got settled and the crowd wasn’t too bad. The weather was milder than I expected, which was good since we had to sit out there for over an hour.

When midnight arrived, the fireworks went off and lasted a good 15 minutes.

I thought it was actually better than the July 4th show and it’s much closer to our house! We had an unobstructed view of the water and the Bay Lights on the bridge gave it a nice backdrop.

Happy New Year!!!

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

By beakatude
on Dec 29, 2014
in family, holidays, outta here, yum

We headed to Mexico on Christmas Day and stayed until Sunday, December 28th. It was a less-than-3-hour flight but ended up waiting another 3 hours in the immigration line because they were short-staffed on Christmas Day. It was definitely not a good way to start a vacation.
We stayed in a small resort called Bel Air Collection Resort and Spa located in Nuevo Vallarta, which is a 25-minute drive from Puerto Vallarta. The hotel was right on the beach with an infinity pool overlooking the water. It was perfect for our little family and a kid who wanted to go the beach everyday. They served coffee every morning in the lobby from 6-8am and this was my alone time every morning.

We booked through Expedia and got a deluxe studio for only $125/night.

It had a kitchenette complete with dishes, microwave, stovetop (with pots), mini fridge, and sink. It was perfect for when KK would wake up in the morning starving. I brought instant oatmeal and instant rice porridge for this purpose.

There was a table and chairs for her to eat and color.

They also had a pull-out sofa bed that was perfect for her to sleep on. This is usually how I found her in the morning.

They also had a king-sized bed and a very clean bathroom with a huge tub. KK ended up sleeping in the big bed one of the nights.

We had breakfast at the hotel most mornings and they had a buffet of fresh fruit, chilaquiles, eggs, and beans. I thought it was actually pretty good.

The pool was nice and had lots of different levels and nooks to play in. KK loved the pool and we loved the view. Jes particularly enjoyed the swim-up bar. After a while, KK would say “let’s go get Dada some juice.” Haha. In the afternoon, they would serve tea and cookies at the pool. That was a nice touch.

We took the bus into Puerto Vallarta one afternoon. It was a little sketchy considering there weren’t any marked bus stops and a local told us to just wave it down when you see it. That’s what we did and it picked us right up. We didn’t see much of PV since we got dropped off in a weird spot. We did, however, find a place to eat.

It was called Mi Pueblito and run by a very nice old lady that was just enamoured with KK.

The food was decent and the bathroom was super clean. We had enchiladas and taquitos.

We also stopped at a shopping plaza in Nuevo Vallarta where we got Starbucks, frozen yogurt, and had McDonald’s for dinner. We were curious and got a few unique items off the menu. They had “shaker fries”, which was basically fries, a paper bag, and a nacho cheese powder that you add and shake onto the fries. Jason said they were “meh”.

We also ordered these fried spicy cheese balls. They weren’t bad. The best item was the fried blackberry apple pie. Jes mom ordered it and devoured it so fast I couldn’t get a photo of it.

On one of the days, Jia and I went to the spa for pedicures. I had an hour-long pedicure and at one point had this coffee paste painted on my feet. Neato. Jes and I went to a timeshare presentation the day before and got $150 to spend and this is where we spent most of it. With the discount, we ended up having money left over after paying for both of our treatments.

The best part of the trip was seeing my little girl having such a good time. She woke up every morning wanting to go play in the sand and water. It took a very short time to warm up to the water both at the beach and the pool this time. It was nice to have a hotel that was just steps from the sand. We were surrounded by lots of mega resorts that had all-inclusive packages but I was pretty happy with our set-up.

Overall, it was great family vacation. The people were nice, I got to practice some of my Spanish, the food was just OK, and we had lots of time to just relax.

The grandparents got to play with KK and I got a little bit of time to do nothing. KK was a really good traveler and actually napped each day we were there. The time difference didn’t affect us much and the weather was really nice.

The only hiccup in the trip was probably at the end when I got to the airport and realized I had left my phone in the backseat of the taxi. Fortunately it was the same taxi that took us to dinner the night before and he was nice enough to bring it back to us at the airport 25 minutes later. Phew, that was a close one. I had taken most of our pictures with my phone on this trip! With that happy ending, I gotta say that we had a fun time in Mexico. Can’t wait for our next vacation with the other side of the family in Hawaii this coming March!!!

Christmas Eve and Disneyland 2014

By beakatude
on Dec 24, 2014
in *sniff*, aw..., family, holidays, outings, outta here, videos, yum

For the third year in a row, we went to Disneyland with the family. This is a fun tradition that just keeps getting better every year. I grew up going to Disneyland multiple times a year and both Brother and I worked there. Despite that, it never seems to get old and it seems even more fun now through the eyes of our kids.As usual, we got up early and opened some presents. My brother had a giant photo of Koa printed on wood for my parents. Aaawww…we all still miss him.

Once we arrived at Disneyland, the tram, ticket line, and getting into Disney’s California Adventure were easy. Our first stop was to get a FastPass for the Elsa and Anna Meet and Greet.

Then we headed out to Cars Land for a fun ride on the racers. The single-rider line was empty so we all hopped on quickly and still ended up in the same cars together and racing against each other.

For a tasty snack, we headed over to the Cozy Cone. We shared a pretzel bread cone filled with chili, cheese, and Fritos (of course!).

It’s one of my favorite treats at DCA and big enough to share.

At Bugs Land, we rode this funny caterpillar ride that takes you through a giant watermelon and animal cracker box. They both had yummy smells inside.

I like how Little Alice can barely see out of the car in this picture.

The best part of being at Disneyland together is that we get to watch KK and Alice interact. KK is starting to understand what it’s like to be the big kid and held Alice’s hand down the street.

Alice just wanted to do everything KK did. SO cute.

What’s not surprising is that when it came time to meet all of KK’s favorite characters that she shied away. This was the best photo we could get of her with them. What’s funny is that as soon as we got out of the room, she said “I want Elsa and Anna”. *sigh*

She also was not a fan of Santa again. Oh well.

For lunch, we feasted on fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potato.

Both kids ate very well.

On Main Street, everything was decorated for Christmas – including the castle.

KK also said “hello” to Chip and Dale.

During nap time, we rode the newly refurbished Thunder Mountain. Not much was changed aside from the addition of more explosions inside.

The carousel was a hit for everyone. Alice especially enjoyed it and cried when the ride was all done.

On the Casey Jr. Ride, we passed by the new tiny model of Arendelle.

Ever since I was a kid, a big part of our day at Disneyland is scoping out the perfect spot to watch the parade. This year was no different and Brother came prepared with a blanket to sit on this year. We all took turns sitting around while the others wandered around. The kids loved hanging around on the street and KK had fun dancing and twirling in the street before the parade started. You’ll see it at the end of the video below.

The best part of Christmas Time at Disneyland are all the extra twinkle lights around the park.The Christmas Parade is also a favorite – even for Jesse. Here is “It’s a Small World” all lit up. It’s pretty gawdy but so cool at the same time.They also have all the dolls and scenery decorated for the holiday season.