36 week belly pic...

we just got home from my 36 week appt., and it was a day full of tests, poking & prodding.
~the first test they did was to see if i'm positive for Strep B or not (i was negative at the first test they did at the beginning of my pregnancy, so hopefully it's still negative...just one less thing to worry about during labor, not having to get there in time for the antibiotic). anyways, that's not a big deal either way.

~then, my dr. ordered a Non Stress Test because i guess at the last ultrasound, a couple of weeks ago (where they were checking the baby's size since i'm measuring small), my amniotic fluids were a little low (8.9), not super low, but on the lower side. so, when they measured the fluids at the NST, they were back up to like 15.4. nothing to worry about at all...and she was moving A LOT!

~then, i had my 36 week blood test...another routine one, hopefully these iron pills are doing the trick and helping with my low iron.

other news...
the ultrasound results came out fine, she told me that that the baby's not too small, her size is fine. she's still head down (she did a quick ultrasound today just to make sure, sorry, no pics though).
i haven't gained any weight since the last pre-natal visit...i have NO idea how that happened (still 22 lb. total weight gain). i think i've said this before, but i gain less toward the end.
and, i'm measuring 33 cm. (so, still 3 cm. small).

so, that's that...our next appt. is in 2 weeks, at 38 weeks. i'm starting to feel really ready! :)

"the" month...

so, it's officially september...probably the month of our new daughter's arrival (unless she's late). i think i'm already in constant nesting mode. just when i think, "there's not possibly even ONE more thing i can organize/clean/get ready before she's born", i think of one more. i just got done (with derek's help), getting the baby's car seat installed backwards with her little headrest thingy's and the mirror put in on the headrest so i can see what she's doing from the driver's seat. all this, in the 100* weather...fun. and i got literally 10, or so, pairs of the girls shoes and flip flops cleaned out of the car too. all i need to do now is pack a bag for the hospital, which i always wait until the last minute to do, so that won't happen for a while.
anyways, kaia starts school 1 week from today and leia starts pre-school the tuesday after that & then i'll be like 2 weeks from my due date. time is flying. i'm just glad that she's still inside me right now, with how hot it's been here...i'd much rather be pregnant and hot than carrying a baby around and nursing in this weather...we'd have one sweaty baby!
anyways, that's what's going on here. tomorrow's my 36 week pre-natal appt. & i'll put a belly pic up tomorrow too. so, until then. bye-bye.

ironic and miserable!

okay, so you know how on the last post i said that it was 109* yesterday...well, around 8:00 last night we realized that our air conditioner wasn't blowing very cold air. then, we noticed that the inside temperature was gradually going up...not good. so, we've had the air off ever since then and we brought the girls downstairs since it was a little bit cooler down there and opened the back door to get some sort of comfort. right now it says that it's 81* downstairs (which is a lot cooler than upstairs)...it's probably at least 85* or so up here. so, that's the miserable part of it. the ironic part is that the air's worked great the entire time we've lived here and then on the hottest, record breaking day of the summer...it's dead! and did i mention that it feels A LOT hotter than it really is while pregnant? i really hope the A/C repair guys is on time to fix it this morning.
i think it'll be another water park day to escape this heat!
(at least we're not in texas where my family tells me that it's like the 58th day or so this summer where it's been over 100* and SUPER humid). see...i'm trying to be optimistic!

more summer stuff...

is summer over yet? sorry, not to sound "bah-humbug-ish", but this summer has worn me out. i don't know if it's from being pregnant or the fact that it's the first summer that we haven't gone on a "real" vacation or the weather the last few days...it was 109* today! some of you might think i'm nuts, but this summer has seemed busier than the school year. i'm sure a lot of this has to do with my hormones, but i'm kinda ready for school to start (i'm sure i'll regret saying this as we're dropping kaia off for her first day of kindergarten in less than 2 weeks).
anyways, since it was SO hot today, we decided to join auntie kimmy & cousin caleb at this indoor bounce place & it was one of those days where i was really glad that derek works from home most of the time and that he was able to go with us, because could you imagine me and my big belly trying to go down those big slides with the girls?
here are a few pics kim sent us from today...enjoy!
lei lei and daddy...
kaia and little cousin caleb...

say ahhhhh...

today, we got to mark one more thing off the "check list" of stuff to do before the summer ends. the girls went to the dentist...leia's "real" first time (unless you count going for a ride in the chair and getting her teeth counted the last time kaia went). i didn't know what to expect from either of them...they're pretty unpredictable sometimes, but they both did great! i couldn't have asked for them to cooperate better than they did.
here are some pics along with some "narration" :)...
i guess the flat screen t.v.'s with the movie "Madagascar" on in front of every chair didn't hurt either...
i wasn't gonna have them do the x-rays, but they convinced me that it's such a low amount of radiation and this way we'll know for sure if either of them has a cavity or not. so, we did it...
then, it was time for kaia's cleaning...
and her exam...
checking out the fish...
leia's turn...she was showing them how she brushes her teeth...they were impressed at how she circled her toothbrush. great job, lei-lei!
here she is waiting for the dentist to come do her exam...showing me how she's gonna open her mouth for him. ha.
when it was time for him to look in her mouth, the dentist thought for a 3 year old, she'd do better if she sat on mine or derek's lap (well, mine wouldn't have work very well anyways with this 35 week along belly)...but, when derek asked her if she wanted to sit on his lap for the exam, she looked at us like, "are you kidding, i'm not a baby". so, he reclined her back and she did perfectly...didn't act scared at all and did everything she asked.
then, when they did leia's x-rays (only a couple)...she thought they were putting a cracker in her mouth...she kept calling it that, but "it was one you couldn't eat". silly girl!
getting them nice and shiny! she looked so proud when the dental hygenist said, "you're doing SO good, are you sure you're not an undercover 5 year old!"...she's SO over being called a baby, so that was a big deal for her.
then...as kaia got a tiny cavity filled (so small that it didn't even show up on the x-ray & she didn't even have to get numbed...thank goodness. NO shots!)...leia "played" video games, she had no clue what she was doing, but hey...she felt like a big kid.
GREAT job girls...we'll be doing it again in 6 months or so (minus the x-rays and hopefully minus the fillings!)

look what they can do...

okay...i got a little carried away with the videos today. but, anyways...here's the first one. kaia does know how to do free style, but i guess she prefers to just get to point A to point B as quickly as possible (we'll work more on her "form" later). she's gotten pretty quick!

leia's turn

leia's quite the little fish too...she finally got the "taking a breath" part of swimming down (a pretty important part, huh? :)
now, i can relax a little more when they're in the pool...whew!

"What's the baby gonna look like?"

last time for a while...

we took the girls to d.l. today & i'm sure it'll be the last time before the baby's born...but since school starts soon, it'll probably be a while before we go again period (at least a couple of months or so...which sounds ridiculous to say that's "a while", but when you have year passes, it kinda is). okay, they're spoiled. dare i say this...but either it's just the fact that i'm 34 weeks pregnant and getting tired more easily or i'm starting to feel a little burned out on disneyland (derek too). i would never tell the girls that, i don't want to spoil the "magic", but hey...just being honest.
anyways...we did have a good time, especially the girls!
hey...it's worth it just to see them smile.
here are kaia and derek waiting in line to go on Thunder Mountain...kaia says, "i LOVE the scary rides". leia has no fear either, she's just not tall enough for the roller coasters yet. :(
she didn't mind waiting for them since she had a treat to keep her pre-occupied...
a "sis shot"...
the good 'ol "animal petting" area...it was so funny the sheep was 1/2 alseep looking at the ground and the second derek took the pic, he looked at the camera. haha.


see you in a couple of months disneyland!

34 week "photo shoot"...

well...close enough, i'll be 34 weeks tomorrow. so, i had the ultrasound that the doctor ordered today and everything looked good. the radiology tech couldn't tell me anything, but she didn't seem concerned...especially since i usually measure small. derek wasn't able to go in with me since we had the girls with us, which was a bummer because not only did i get to see her on the screen, but her little lips were doing this sucking thing like what babies do when their sleeping (you know how they move their mouth off and on?)...well, she would do that for a few seconds, then stop and a few seconds later, do it again. it was SO cute...i wish he coulda' seen it! the tech said that babies drink the amniotic fluid, so that's what she was doing.
also, according to the ultrasound, she's about 4 lbs. 10 oz. right now. and, she's head down (i hope she stays that way)...AND she re-confirmed that she's indeed a girl! whew...good thing, cuz we got a lot of girly things at the baby shower last weekend. :)
anyways, here are some of the pics from today...
this one's pretty obvious...her profile.
this one is her lips (i'm not sure why it's the only thing that showed up...i guess she was "blowing us a kiss"). haha... can you see it?
and this one is her face (sideways).
i love this baby so much and seeing her today made me SO ready to meet her...it won't be long!

a beautiful day...

auntie kimmy & nema threw me a baby shower today with the help of "papa", auntie gladys and great grandma grace and it was beautiful. it wasn't nearly as hot as august usually is & we had a lot of fun. thank you again for such a beautiful shower! love you guys.
this is the best we could do for a family shot...leia wasn't exactly cooperating. ;)


here's kaia...our little artist!
and leia did some painting too, but she kept herself very busy eating junk all day long!
my little helpers...
here are kim and me with christie and nikki (hawaii cousins :)
we got so much great stuff...i felt very loved today. too bad we didn't get a group shot of all our friends and family! derek did get a whole bunch of un-flattering/eating/talking/funny face pics of our guests (he's good at that) that i know i wouldn't appreciate being put on the blog, so this is all i'll put on here for now. :)

B.J.'s

derek's parents took us out to dinner tonight to celebrate my b-day...and you can't go wrong at B.J.'s...how could you when you end the night with a Pizookie? ahhh...now that's my ideal dessert! i'm glad i'm not getting weighed again for a few weeks! j/k. haha.
we're trying to take more pics lately, cuz we're only gonna have a few more as a family of 4...i'm sure we're gonna forget how that feels pretty quickly (in a GOOD way :).

what better way to spend the day...

...on your birthday than at the beach! we went to balboa island today...it was our first time to actually go to the beach there (unless you count driving through in the car). first of all, we got GREAT parking...we could see the car from our spot on the beach...don't you love when parking comes easy, it just starts the day out good. it was just a mellow day & i realized that this might be our last time going to the beach as a family of 4...since school starts soon. crazy.
anyways...enjoy our pics.




no, the bird's not dead ;)

33 week pre-natal appt. info...

okay, so i decided to put a pic from a couple of days ago because i realized that i don't have very many non-bare-belly pics on here. so i decided to put one where i have more clothes on. boy...do i look tired!

anyways...i was supposed to have my 32 week appt. last week when i was actually 32 weeks, but the dr.'s office called to reschedule for this week...so, i'm actually 33 weeks now (i'm SO good at math, huh? :)

so, today's appt. was pretty routine...since the last appt at 28 weeks (5 weeks ago), i've gained another 4 lbs. a couple more than i woulda guessed since we've been walking pretty consistantly, but oh well...it doesn't matter. so, now i've gained a total of 22 lbs.

and, she measured me at 29 cm. (4 cm.'s small)...which is pretty much where i was at with kaia and leia too, so i'm not concerned. but, she said she had to order an untrasound just to make sure the baby's not small. like i said, i'm not stressed because this is how it's been every time and now we'll have another "pic" of her. :) so, next wednesday (aug. 18th), we have that appt.

that's about it...not much else going on. we've just been trying to do a few last minute fun, summer things before school starts for the girls...we took them to that waterpark again yesterday and our disneyland passes start back up again next week, so i'm sure we'll squeeze in one more trip to D.L. before school starts too. oh, and the girls have a dentist appt. to get their teeth cleaned in a couple of weeks...lucky them, i'm sure they're gonna love that! :) (i'll try to take some pics of that to put on here). oh, and i turn 33 tomorrow...getting old! j/k
also, i'm really thankful that the weather's been unusually cool for august here.
that's all.

32 week belly pic...

well...i'm officially 8 months! in some ways the times gone by really fast, but at the same time when i think that we have 2 more months to go...it seems like forever! i'm sure it'll go by faster than i think, especially since we're already in august and school/pre-school starts next month, i'll be more than busy preparing the girls for that.
anyways, my hormones are in full effect...one minute i feel like i'm in decent shape for being 8 months along and then...when i do something dumb (like i did today), like go try on a few dresses and shirts that i think might be cute to wear for the baby shower, i realize that my new rule is to not try anything else on for the rest of my pregnancy. depressing. and, we have been really good about going on walks 3 times a week...and, not only do we go on 1 1/2 mile walks, but i pull the girls in a wagon the whole time (when you count the weight of the wagon and the girls, it's over 80 lbs.)...AND we take a very hilly route. okay, i'm done sounding like i'm complaining. i'm just having a moment. i know it's probably the hormones and it'll pass. i'm totally thankful that i'm pregnant and just ignore me.
anyways...we have my 32 week pre-natal appt. on friday so i'll update any news then, but the baby's been VERY active and feels like she's doing summer saults still, it makes me wonder if she's gonna settle into her "head down" position soon like she's supposed to. please, baby, do that for me. :) and i've been waking up during the night SO thirsty and the weird dreams are still in full effect. don't ask. ;)
okay, so there's an update...i'll post more friday after our dr.'s appointment.

summer.

well...summer's more than 1/2 over and it's flying by. i think the summer's been busier than the "school year" was kinda (in a different way), but we've had a lot of fun.
the girls had vacation bible school this week...yes, leia too. she seems like such a big kid doing all these "big kid activities"...just imagine when she starts pre-school in september and after the baby comes, i know how much older she's gonna seem! i remember how much older kaia felt when leia was born...it's crazy. anyways...here are a few pics from today, the last day at VBS.
i know, you can't tell from the pic, but leia DID have a good time :) ha.
these pics were during their little performance they had today (kaia was too far away to get a good pic). :(
leia and her little friend, fiona...and then, one "sis shot" before we left...
Then...tonight we decided to take advantage of the great cooler weather and go to the drive-in movies. we've never taken the girls and they've been wanting to see G-Force. Oh, the things we do for our kids! i like some kid movies, but i have to say, this is NOT my type of kid movie! and try sitting in the back of an SUV for 1 1/2 hours with an almost 8 month pregnant belly. sacrifice! :) anyways...they're worth it.
sorry, i HAD to take this pic (poor leia). we made sure to bring the little porta potty (cuz the bathrooms at the drive in are gross) and look...she didn't even have to stop watching the movie when she peed! not bad.
it came out blurry (still haven't learned how to use our camera that well yet)...
btw...it is only me or, when you're at the drive-in, does anyone else have the urge to walk around singing songs from "Grease" and pretend to be Sandy? just wondering.

we survived!

okay, so...the girls had their recital on saturday and BOY, was it a dance-filled day! about 8 hours worth! leia's recital was at 10:00 & kaia's was at 2:00 (with a 30 minute break in between) & did i mention i was backstage with them the whole time. anyways...needless to say, i LOVED watching them, but i have to admit that i was kinda relieved when we were finally on our way home.
so, here's a little summary...like i said, leia went 1st & she had her ballet "number" first and she decided she didn't feel like dancing for that one...not ONE dance move the entire time! :) no, it wasn't stage fright, she wasn't scared, she didn't try to run off the stage. she just decided it was more interesting to watch all of her "fellow dancers" do the dance. so, that's what she did. she stood very still, in a cute little ballerina pose and looked the girl to her right, up & down for a while & then did the same to the girl on her left. i was cracking up, i couldn't help but think, "all of these dance lessons (AND she knows the dance) and this is what we get to watch." anyways, at her age no matter what she did, it woulda' been okay. she still looked cute and got a few chuckles from the audience. anyways...fast forward about 1 hour or so, it was time for her tap dance, and she was back to her old self...she did that dance pretty good.





then, it was kaia's turn. she did awesome! not only did she not have to look at her teacher (who's doing the dance off to the side backstage, in case any of them forget what comes next), but she did both of her dances with such confidence and looked SO happy up there on stage. maybe we have the next Shirley Temple on our hands! (j/k)


and, of course, the trophies! this was leia's first trophy and she carried that thing around looking so proud of herself! :)
kaia and leia...we are SO proud of both of you!