I took the girls down to the Children's Museum today for some fun. We got there right at opening and it was super busy by the time we left (right around noon). They had a lot of fun. I think their favorite part was dressing up like squirrels and running through the tunnels and hanging out in nests. This kind of thing makes me miss living in Texas where we could go all the time!
My mom & I took the girls out today to Barnes & Noble to pick out some books, Starbucks for a snack and then to the "germ tree" at the mall for some running around.
Corrine, Anita, Owen, & Raisa came up today to see Jake & Sam and then take the girls to Build-a-Bear for their birthday presents. Anna picked a pink unicorn and Sarah picked a kitten. Both girls love their new animals and I think they "got" the experience more this year than last year. I might have them make something for their brother there but haven't decided yet.
My mom & I made a short little snowman for the girls today. They just wanted to have a snowball fight and weren't as impressed with our (unimpressive, I admit!) snowman as I thought they would be.
I took Anna & Sarah to the doctor here today for their annual US exams. Both girls checked out healthy and Anna got two vaccinations and Sarah got two. They are both due for another one or two when we get back to Korea so I thought it was nice to spread them out a bit.
Here are their stats:
Anna is 34 pounds and is 40.25 inches tall
Sarah is 27 pounds 10 oz and is 34 inches tall
Jet lag and pregnancy insomnia do not mix! I had a much harder time with the jet lag than the kids because of this! At least my mom had energy to play with Anna (and usually Sam) in the afternoons while I took a nap (when Sarah was also napping). I am pretty much back onto my regular fatigue schedule but am not looking forward to doing it again in a few weeks when we return to Korea.
Baby Boy's movements have gotten stronger but still very inconsistent. Craig was actually able to feel him moving around the night before we left Korea which was nice. I felt him moving while I was staring into the darkness at 3 AM (7 PM Korean time) the first few nights. Now he is starting to wiggle more when I eat something particularly tasty but he hasn't developed a routine yet of moving during the evenings when the girls are in bed.
I have acquired most of the things I need for Baby Boy and have successfully found cute boys clothes (something I was skeptical about when I first started shopping!) and accessories.
Baby Boy weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long this week.
The girls were thrilled to see the snow outside when they woke up this morning.
With Grandma when we first got out there. They were a little apprehensive!
Anna had fun getting towed around on the sled but Sarah wasn't very thrilled.
I got tired after one lap around my parents small backyard! Baby Boy and I need to start walking on the treadmill when we get back to Korea!
Anna said she wanted to make a snow angel after she saw mine but just wasn't that into it when it was her turn.
Sarah set up this napping station when she got inside and dried off.
Grandma and the three big kids playing Candy Land during Sarah's nap.
Playing well on their own during Sarah's (and grandpa's and my) naps this afternoon.
We went out for more while Grandpa was snow-blowing the driveway and sidewalk.
Nice icicle!
Anna decided to throw snowballs at the garage door.
Mixing up brownies for dessert.
Although the girls didn't have proper footwear for snow I am really glad we got a good snowstorm while we were here. This is the first real snow they have experienced and they were super excited to get out there this morning! Sarah has a bit of a cold so I think she wasn't having as much fun as she could have but any time I asked her if she wanted to go in or stay outside she always wanted to stay outside.
Anna looked so cute in her pants and new butterflies & stars sweatshirt that she wore to swimming I just had to get a picture. She did great in her lesson today again.
Sarah really took to Papa when he was in Korea and likes Grandpa a lot here in Colorado. That is so very different than Anna! Anna is really doing so much better than ever though and is giving him hugs and is speaking to everyone, too.
I gave Sarah a little mohawk before her bath tonight.
We're doing more than reading while we're here but this is the easiest way to get pictures of kids (because they're sitting still)!
Sarah made some bracelets for herself out of rubberbands.
Anna had a smile on her face for her entire swimming lesson.
Watching a 15-minute My Little Pony movie on the PSP.
The girls are pretty much over their jet lag. Sarah is still waking up and fussing a bit (which is not normal for home) but at least she's not staying up. I brought her to bed with me the first two nights but now she's stayed in her own crib all night the last two. I have had a combination of jet lag and pregnancy insomnia that has left me feeling super tired all day and then wide awake most of the night. Pretty awful but hopefully I can get straightened out soon!
Anna had her first swimming lesson today and she really liked it. We were lucky enough to get four private lessons for her and she seems to like her teacher pretty well based on the big smile she had on her face during the entire lesson.
Cupcakes.
Sarah instantly tried on Anna's new Tinkerbell underwear.
Anna & Sam are having a lot of fun together in the afternoons when Jake is at school and Sarah is napping.
All of the kids were being really quiet in the other room so I went to check on them and they were all four working on Anna's Strawberry Shortcake sticker book that they found in her suitcase.
We had a little birthday party for the girls this morning since my side of the family just missed Anna's and they'll miss Sarah's by just a few weeks when we return to Korea.
Great Grandma Eldora came today. It was really nice to see Sarah give her a hug and a kiss at bedtime and I was pleasantly surprised that Anna also gave everyone hugs at bedtime which is a major breakthrough for her!
The girls found Grandma's dress-up collection right away. Sarah is dancing in this picture.
We had a pretty decent trip to Colorado today. Anna sat with Anita & Brian on the long flight from Tokyo to San Francisco and I had Sarah on my own toward the back of the plane. Sarah threw only one fit this time (on the long flight) but overall she did do better than last summer and I knew Anna was being well taken care of which was part of the problem I had last summer (leaving Anna alone in the seats for extended periods to try to deal with Sarah).
The girls only slept 2-3 hours on that long flight and did not sleep on either of the other two flights or in the car to Grandma & Grandpa's house. They both fell asleep right away at bedtime (6:45 tonight). I am absolutely wiped out!
The girls had fun collecting seashells on the beach.
The Busan Aquarium.
Petting the seastars.
Craig's meeting ended early today so we got to spend the afternoon with him.
The girls playing "Starsong & Pinkie Pie of the Hill" (Anna is Starsong and Sarah is Pinkie Pie—characters from My Little Pony).
Anna's class has been studying traffic signs and she particularly likes the "no parking" sign so she was super excited to see this giant "no smoking" sign at Haeundae Beach.
Having a quick snack in the hotel.
View from our room.
Anita, Brian, Anna, Sarah, & I went to Busan today to be with Craig who came on Sunday for a meeting through Wednesday. The girls were great on the ferry (and luckily the water was calm!) and they were really excited about staying at the Westin Chosun right on the beach!
Arm (?) on the left and foot on the right.
He was waving at us on the left one.
Spine.
Face.
Anita came in to my appointment this morning and Dr. Lee gave us a pretty good tour of Baby Boy. I did ask him to reconfirm that he is still a boy so he showed us again. Everything looks good! Sarah didn't like that I was lying down and was tugging on my feet saying, "get up, mommy!" but she did pretty well overall.
I bought this airplane at Home Plus last spring. Craig decided to build it with Brian today. I had no idea it was such a huge project! I thought it was going to be something fun for Craig & Anna to do together! She did have fun playing with it with Craig & Brian until it got destroyed.
Papa read a lot of books to the girls tonight!
We went out to PIzzeria Il Toro for Craig's birthday lunch before he left for Busan this afternoon. We will meet up with him in Busan later this week.
Anna & Sarah are having a lot of fun with Anita & Brian during this visit! They are having fun taking them out to places around Okpo (school, restaurants, etc.) and showing them their toys and books. I think the plan for our flights to Colorado will be that Anna sticks with Nana and I'll stick with Sarah. Brian will have to be a floater (he thinks he's going to float himself up to First Class and just get out of the way!). Sarah has been cranky the past week or two (I actually took her to the doctor on Thursday to be sure it wasn't an ear infection or anything serious before our trip) so I know she's going to demand my attention and all Anna will need is someone to read to her, get her food ordered, and get the PSP started.
Waiting for her friends to arrive.
Sarah was ready, too!
Opening the presents.
Kaya, Miruna, Anna, & Isabel
The bead set from Isabel was the party activity. These girls worked in absolute silence.
Singing Happy Birthday (I think Miruna was the only kid who sang along).
The first year Anna has even tried to blow out her candles. It took a lot of effort but she did it!
Anna invited all of the Ladybird girls to her birthday party today. Just three were able to make it (three others were not able to). The girls all got fairy wings and wands to take home for their party favor. My "plan" for the party was to let the kids just run around and play. They were so quiet and apparently needed some direction. Luckily Isabel's gift was a big hit and they worked on making necklaces and bracelets. Then we had a small lunch and the girls started to run around like one would expect four-year-olds to do. By then it was time to go home! Anna had fun and she spoke to her friends (she was actually the most chatty of all of them, believe it or not!) and played and interacted. This was such a big change from last year. I actually even had to pull her aside at one point and ask her to stop being "bossy" with one of the girls! I think she believes that now that she is FOUR she can give up some of the stuff she was being shy about when she was three. I hope so!
Anna requested a Dutch Baby for breakfast this morning. After breakfast we opened presents. The biggest hit was the My Little Pony pegasus from Nana & Papa. The pony's name is Star Song which was so wonderful because Anna's name is "Star"! Anna is now going by "Star Song," too. She also loves her new silver sparkly shoes that Sarah & I got for her in town to replace her red sparkly ones from last summer.
Wow time is flying by! I am waiting for Craig, Anita, & Brian to get here from the airport! This seemed like such a long way off when we first told them we were expecting our third child. Someone asked me today how many weeks I am and I surprised myself when I said "nineteen weeks" because that means I'm almost half-way done! ??
I am feeling good but Sarah has caught the cold our family has been passing around and she has been super needy and wants me to carry her all of the time. Which I can't do. My back is already starting to hurt and I'm nervous about getting into a situation like I was a few weeks ago where I could barely stand up. At least if I can make it through our trip next week then I will survive. I just don't think Sarah is going to adjust very well to not being the baby of the family.
I have felt a few more stronger nudges from Baby Boy and usually in the evening when the girls are in bed but a few during the day as well. Sarah still pushes on my stomach more than I'd like and I think Baby Boy is going to start pushing back one of these days!
Babycenter says that Baby Boy weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom. I will go for my twenty-week appointment on Monday morning.
Anna & Sarah had a ton of fun playing on the bed we set up for Nana & Papa when they get here tomorrow night!
Anna likes to practice typing on Craig's OLPC but I have to tell her how to spell everything. She was coming up with her own sentences though. She is "Star," of course; Sarah is "Sparkle," Craig is "Rocket Ship," and I am "Rainbow." We all live in different buildings.
This is how Anna left her lunch. I know kids don't typically eat their bread crusts but what I find funny is that she put the crusts back into the square shape the way she found them.
I am feeling really great now that the morning sickness is gone (and, really, I know it wasn't as bad as with the girls) except that I have had an awful cold all week! I think it wiped me out more than the nausea did. It's mostly gone now so hopefully that is the end of complaints for a little while. My back still is sore/tired frequently but nothing like the pain of a few weeks ago. Some days I don't need to take a nap but I still need to lay down for a bit each day.
We are mostly decided on a name for Baby Boy which is a very strange feeling. I guess since we've had time to talk about boy names since 2004 and haven't gotten to use one it made it easier to come to an agreement. Although Anna still thinks we should name him "Dumptruck," I feel certain that won't be part of his name. I'll have to get a video of Sarah saying our name choice because it's pretty cute when she says it right now. I will at least wait to announce the name here until Baby Boy arrives though to save some sort of surprise (Along with the question I have about his hair: will it be blonde and curly like Anna or will it be red and straight like Sarah? Or will it be curly and red or straight and blonde?) I also have questions about delivering here in Korea but most experiences I have heard are positive which is the same I can say for where I delivered in Texas and Qatar, really.
This pregnancy is truly flying by; I honestly don't know how I'm already 18 weeks and our trip to Colorado is coming up soon. I have a feeling that August will be here before I know it!
Babycenter says that Baby Boy is approximately 5 1/2 inches long head to rump and weighs almost 7 ounces.
