Lyla's trip to Japan part two: Hakone

Some pictures my mom took in Hakone.  Lyla is with my aunt Keiko in most of these and my mom is behind the camera.

These are at a glass museum in Hakone

we are lovely: a blog about birth stories...

I am excited to announce that Cody's birth story is now featured on abirthstoryblog!  I stumbled upon this site recently and I have been enthralled with all the interesting birth stories there.  This blog has it all...home births, c-sections, epidurals, nightmare experiences, and picture-perfect ones.  I decided that Cody's birth story was entertaining enough for others to be interested in and perhaps benefit from, so I submitted it and it was accepted.  They even sent me a sweet email thanking me for sharing and to let me know that it would be online today.  His story falls under the categories of "home birth, natural birth, unassisted birth".  If you love a good birth story then grab your popcorn and pull up to your computer for some good reads.  If you are pregnant, be aware that some of the stories are a bit unnerving...but, for the most part, they are all beautiful depictions of how a life was brought into the world.  Enjoy!

a glimpse of lyla's trip to japan

This is the first picture my unle Shu-Chan took when Lyla arrived at the airport in Haneda.  She looks pretty excited!

Eating breakfast or lunch somewhere in Tokyo.  Lyla, of course, hamming it up for the camera.

Lyla went to Hello Kitty world with her third cousins (my cousins' kids).  I am sure that she got a few adorable things from this store.  I am so jealous!

Putting on a show for family.

This past weekend Lyla went to the Anpanman museum.  She got to hug her old pal.

Sweet treats from the Anpanman cafeteria.

Yum!

We got to skype with Lyla on Saturday evening (Sunday morning Tokyo time).  She is having the time of her life!  This coming week she will be taking a trip to Hakone with my mom, my aunt Keiko, and my uncle Shu-Chan.  I can't wait to see more pictures of Lyla's adventures in this coming week!  Stay tuned for another update soon.

35 and 37 weeks

Now we're getting into the melon sizes. 

35 weeks and baby boy was the size of a 5 1/4 pound honeydew.  5 more weeks to go.

Today is 37 weeks and baby boy is the size of a 6 pound mini watermelon.  Baby is officially "full term".  Yay!  He is in the head-down position now so he can come anytime.  A lot of people are asking how I am feeling now and if I feel "ready".  I think it's hard to say that I am ready yet.  If I went into labor today, I would probably feel a bit suprised and unprepared.  I still have a few more things to throw into my hospital bag and some things I want to take care of at work.  On the other hand, I am anxious to meet this baby boy, so I wouldn't mind if he did make an early appearance.  I trust that he will come in God's perfect timing and that the Lord will put me at ease when the time comes to bring him into the world.  3 more weeks to my due date!

We're not going to talk about weight gain anymore.  Let's just say I went past my goal maximum a couple days ago and it looks like I will keep on packing on the pounds until baby boy arrives.  Oh well!  As long as the baby is healthy I don't mind having a little "more to love".

april showers

Saturday was my friend Leslie's shower in Corona.  Leslie is a dear friend of mine from high school and college.  She and her husband Jamie live in Seattle now, so I was very excited when I got her so-cal baby shower invitation in the mail from her sister-in-law.  Leslie is so stunning with a bun in the oven.  Here we are belly to belly 28 weeks and 34 weeks pregnant.

On Sunday some friends from work got together to throw me a baby shower brunch at Mimi's Cafe.  We shared some laughs over delicious food and had a wonderful time.

The gang.  Grace, Sara, me, Jamie, Carrie, Melissa, and Brittany.

Monday night we had a joint celebration for mine and Lauren's pregnancies with our growth group.  We have been so blessed to be able to gather together with all these wonderful people to learn God's word, grieve together during sad times, and rejoice with eachother during happy times.  After our study, the group gathered around the pregnant mommys to pray for us.

The ladies.

A yummy mint chocolate ice cream cake from Coldstone.

Blessed with diapers and wipes!  You can never have too many of either of these.

32 and 34 weeks

At 32 weeks baby boy was the size of a 3 3/4 pound jicama.  He started doing some major hiccup sessions this week to prepare his lungs for breathing air.  It's definitely getting crowded in there!

I started packing my hospital bag last night.  As this is my first time going to a hospital to deliver a baby, this is all new to me.  I searched some online sources for a good hospital bag checklist and then I asked some friends for advice.  I want to be prepared and comfortable without lugging a bunch of bags to clutter up our room.  I've only packed about 1/3 of the items on my list and I've already filled a carry-on sized luggage.  I don't know where Travis is going to put his stuff.  Ha!  I picked out baby boy's going-home outfit and laid it out on the bed.  I showed it to Travis and we both got very emotional and excited picturing him wearing it!   We just can't wait to meet this little dude.

Today is 34 weeks and baby boy is the size of a 4 3/4 pound canteloupe.  That means he has put on about a pound in the last 2 weeks.  He is definitely plumping up and preparing for life outside the womb.

I have gained 29.6 pounds.  I am still technically in the "normal" range for pregnancy weight gain, but I can only gain a pound a week from here on out...and I recently discovered Talenti's black cherry gelato at Sprouts.  This could be bad.

at the AWANA drive-in

AWANA does a drive-in movie night once a year where the kids get to bring a cardboard box car and watch a movie under the stars.  Due to poor planning, Lyla did not go last year.  But we planned ahead this time and marked it on our calendars.  I reminded Travis a few nights prior to drive-in night that he needs to make her a car.  Although he had so many other things going on, he decided to start on it right away.  I encouraged him to keep it simple, but in true Travis form, once he gets going he wants it to be exactly right.  He pulled an all-nighter on Monday night to make this awesome rat-rod for Lyla.  He used a diaper box for the body, pizza boxes, paper plates for wheels, paper towel rolls for the pipes, plastic bins for the front and back windshield, water bottles for the headlights and tail-lights, and a bottle cap for the fuel cap.  What a great creation!  I was shocked when I came downstairs in the morning to see this bad boy in our kitchen.  Lyla was pretty jazzed too.

We pulled up to AWANA and the kids got to "park" their cars wherever they wanted.  Some of these cars were really spectacular!

There was a volkswagon bus, hot pink cadillac, princess carriage, old-school batmobile, and so much more.  Some of these parents really spent time on these beauties.  A few of them even had working headlights!

130 kids watching Veggietales as the sun goes down.

Lyla sat still in her very cramped car enjoying the movie.  I somehow was able to stuff her in this thing with an entire mexican blanket to keep her warm and her jacket to use as a pillow.  Her little arms could barely maneuver enough to hold onto her box of popcorn.

She had such a great time and she was very proud of her little vehicle.  She got lots of comments like, "cool car, lyla!" to which she replied, "Thanks, but it's not a car, it's a rat rod".  She is surely her father's daughter.