We made it home: Grandmother's 90th birthday, Thanksgiving-less Thanksgiving & Tokyo

Wow, the last 2 weeks have been a complete whirl wind of family fun time in Taipei and more fun vacation time in Tokyo! I don't even know where to start!

Well first a quick baby update. We're on week 18 and I definitely look pregnant now. Watching my belly grow is so neat! My appetite has now consumed my life even more than it did before. :) We go in for another doc visit on Tuesday but the "big sonogram" won't be until 12/16 when we FINALLY get to find out the gender! Now that I'm showing more, people keep telling me I'm having a girl because I'm carrying lower and wider (rather than high up). We'll see! We'll be happy with either! Btw traveling while pregnant promotes swelling big time so that was the only super annoying part about our vacation. Ugh! I already miss wearing my cute heels! :P

So the main reason for our trip was for my grandmother's 90th birthday! We took off for Taipei 11/18 and celebrated her birthday on 11/22. Ruby and I go back (to our second home) in Taipei once a year but this trip was extra special because of the birthday. It's such a huge milestone! :) We got to visit with family, eat DELICIOUS FOOD, play lots of ma jong and we even squeezed in a quick 2 day vacation to Sun Moon Lake in Tai Zhong. Here are a few quick pics.

Lao Nian blowing out her candles! :)

My cute niece Ni Ni - she's grown so much!

Sun Moon Lake

Cihen Pagoda on the East side of Sun Moon Lake

We rented these electric scooters to ride around the lake - they were so much fun!

We spent Thanksgiving in Tokyo, hence the Thanksgiving-less Thanksgiving. It's as if it never happened this year - so strange. I still need to compile pics with Ruby so the Tokyo pics will have to wait until next time. But let's just say there was a lot of walking, sight seeting, fresh sashimi, good beer and of course, SAKE!

Round Ligament Pain

When I got out of bed this morning, I felt a small cramp low in my abdomen. I felt it again as I was hunched over putting lotion on my feet this morning. I felt like I was squishing the baby when I moved around! Turns out what I felt is called round ligament pain. It's described as "generally a brief, sharp, stabbing pain or a longer-lasting, dull ache that you may feel on one or both sides of your lower abdomen or deep in your groin, usually starting in your second trimester." It's when the ligaments supporting your uterus stretch and thicken to accomodate the growing size. We're on week 16 and the baby should be the size of an avocado and about 3.5 oz. I can't wait to see my belly grow more during this 2nd trimester! I've already gotten belly itches from my skin starting to stetch. :)

Heart Beat

We had our week 15 doctor appointment yesterday and finally got to hear our baby's heart beat! 160 bpm - which is spot on. :) It was so surreal to finally hear it! They took some more blood for the tetra screen and Bryce got to see first hand what a cry baby I am about needles poking into my veins. But luckily the lab technician lady was super nice and it really didn't hurt that much. Our next appt is on Dec 2 for the big U/S - we should know what gender our baby is by then. Can't wait! I'm just excited that the morning/all day sickness is slowly but surely fading away. It's about time!

Happy 30th Birthday, Bryce! :)

Gonzo's 30th Birthday Party

We spent the past weekend in Fort Worth celebrating birthdays and hanging out with our college buddies. It's always a lot of fun and someone is always up to no good. One of our friend's is partial to Flaming Dr. Peppers and it might have something to do with him being a pyro. Not sure if the 2 are related. :P





A quick belly update - I look more pregnant than I really am because I just ate 2 sausage and egg breakfast tacos. Yum! :)

My Halloween Morning...

I got up extra early to vote today and on my way to the voting location, I was taking a left turn at this veeeery stale yellow/red light signal and got pulled over by a cop going the opposite way in traffic. Bummer! He asked if I knew I ran a red light and I said "Yes, I know I did. I thought I could make it. Sorry." So he takes my DL and when he comes back, I see that he wrote in the comment section, next to where he drew a picture of the intersection, "I thought I could make it." I had no idea they quoted you on the ticket. :P Then he said "Try to have a nice day" to which I replied "Thanks and have a happy halloween!" :) I completely deserve the ticket so lesson learned - watch out for cops when you run red lights. JUST KIDDING! :)

Week 13 - end of 1st Trimester

I just went for a walk around the block and thought I might as well have my picture taken since I'm starting to show now. My running shorts were a bit tight so I'm wearing them down low. I haven't been this big since I drank so much in college!! :P Today is a chill day at home. Bryce is grilling, I'm doing laundry and there's endless college football to keep us entertained! UT plays OSU in just over an hour - GO HORNS!! It's great to be #1. :)

Maternity clothes shopping

Lately my mornings have been tough and at times frustrating because I have trouble finding pants that I can still fit into for work. Problem solved today - my mom, Ruby and I went shopping and I discovered secret belly fit pants! They are extremely comfortable and I highly recommend them for non-pregnant people while eating Thanksgiving dinner this year. :) No one will know the difference! Now I'm actually looking forward to picking out what to wear tomorrow.