3 posts from June 2009

GIRL!!

and i got an amniocentesis this morning so a bit of cramping but overall feel good.

we've had a hectic month and i've gotten seriously behind on these grand plans to try to DIY alison's birthday decor.  her birthday is in less than 1 week... ahhhhh!  OMG --- she is 1 already!!

i'm trying to have a mostly westernized birthday with the korean tradition kind of mixed in.  i'm probably the whitest korean so my attempts might be poor.  on the korean side of things, i'm going to set up the dol table (birthday table with various fruits, cake, and rice cakes, but no real rice cakes for me) and going to have alison play the grab game where she has to pick from the following to indicate her future:

string: she will live a long life
pencil: she will be a good student
money: she will be wealthy
rice: she will not go hungry... in this day and age, she will be overweight
scissors: she will be crafty and creative
knife: she will be a chef

i don't have a han bok (traditional korean dress) for alison but my mom is insistent that she put one on some time during the party so i'm going to ask my SIL if i can borrow her daughters hanbok.

i ordered invitations from tinyprints even though i very briefly entertained the idea of making them myself. 

Invite

the DIY stuff

banner:  i had a banner designed by my sister's friend then had it printed at kinkos. there is this really huge mirror behind where the dol table goes that would create a nightmare for picture taking so it has to be covered.

balloons: i'm going to enlist in people to help me make balloon decorations in the shape of flowers.  here's an example:

Balloon flowers

centerpieces:  i need to buy vases and flowers.  i think i may be crazy for thinking that i can make 10 centerpieces myself.  i just couldn't justify hiring a florist to deliver flowers to the venue for just 10 smallish centerpieces, but now i'm seriously contemplating it.
 
dol table decor: i made these fake rice cake towers out of pink, red, and brown M&M's.  i just hope i spelled alison's name out in korean phonetically correct.  pictures to come later.

slideshow: i just finished the birthday slideshow tonight and in making the slideshow, i realized that i cut off the top of alison's head in  so many pictures. i'm so focused on capturing the moment that i forget that i need to take the whole picture. a couple examples:

cake:  of course, cheesecake!  how can we not serve cheesecake at cheesecake factory?  i'm also having my cousin (Filigree Cakes) make a smaller cake for alison to have for herself.  

my current problem is finding something to wear.  i'm in that stage where maternity clothes make me look way more pregnant than i am but real clothes, even bigger sizes don't fit right.  i feel very fat these days.

this month has been busy with the move, battling morning sickness/exhaustion, and the dogs being inside our new smaller place.  i wish i could've taken more pictures this month, but i couldn't find my camera from the move until recently.

milestones and happenings of this month:

• moved to a new place and required 3 days of adjustment =(  lots of crying, anxiety, and lack of sleep
  
• laughs like the dutch baby in the youtube videos!!!  i have waited 6 months for this!  i'm going to try and catch it on video tape
  
• smiles all the time (yes, this is a milestone for us)
  
• screams really loud for fun
  
• brushes her teeth by herself
  
• uses the sippy cup
• plays peek-a-boo
• climbs onto and off of the sofa, the coffee table, stroller, our bed, etc.
  
• climbs down the stairs the right way
• does that korean reflex exercise thing that all the korean parents try to get babies to do: jam-jam (opening and closing hands), dori-dori (turning head side to side), gonji-gonji (pointing finger into the opposite palm), jahk-jahk-gung (clapping).  this would be better described by video but every time i bring out the camera that's all she can focus on.
• points to everything that interests her
• 2nd earthquake for both me and alison.  feels a different than i thought it would

our goal this month: start going to a class again once a week (music, gymboree, etc.)  we need to get out. 

this month we realized that we cannot take alison out to restaurants anymore.  she demands too much of our attention and screams for fun.  our lives are slowly becoming more catered around the baby's schedule and personality.  currently, we are looking for a babysitter so we can have a life outside of the house once the baby goes to sleep.  just basically someone to be in the house so that we are not doing anything illegal by leaving the baby at home alone.

for the dogs, we hired a dog walker who takes the dogs everyday.  lifesaver and so worth the money.  they would go crazy in our 1100 sq ft place.

dean and i are planning a trip to china in august.  are we crazy???  i will be 6 months preggo and it will be so hot out there.  but sadly, i think this will be our last opportunity in a while to go on an adult trip and leave the baby at home.  having our parents babysit 1 kid is enough but adding another might be tough.

pregnancy update:  i am 14 weeks and 2 days today so i'm in my 2nd trimester!  but i'm still sick all the time and have no desire to go out.  my skin is like a teenager and i've already gained 8 lbs!  i eat to feel better.  i had gained 4 lbs by this point with alison but i think some of this weight also has to do with quitting breastfeeding when i was about 5 weeks pregnant.  i had my 1st trimester screen this month and my NT measurement was "elevated."  i knew something was wrong when the ultrasound tech was taking measurements, got quiet, then she told us she needed to show the doctor the pictures.  the doctor then came in and started to take the same measurements. he basically said that after my blood test results are available, i might need to think about having an amniocentesis.  well, i got my blood tests and the news is good.  chances of down syndrome are 1:327 (for my age, it's 1:725) but still less than 1% chance.  chances of trisomy 18 are 1:30,000!  so no more further testing for me!