36 week and I am beat!

One more week of work... I keep telling myself that and now labor day weekend is here! My has time flown. Cousins and family from out of town came in. Love it when the family is together. Lots of laughs and good times.

Week 36, I'll be honest hasn't felt the greatest. Back pains at night, sleepless nights and numbness in my arms and hands when I sleep. Mostly all when I sleep. During the day, no swelling nor pains but more tired. Baby Ava is definitely kicking and tossing around a lot. My family can see her little knots roll in my belly. Pretty funny.

I went to Baby Gap yesterday and couldn't resist. I finally bought her some clothes! Though the older folks told me "oh she will grow out of it so fast." I couldn't help it. Who can resist sales??? I cannot wait for my little peanut to wear them!

This weekend was a blast. Time for everyone to go home which makes me sad. Though I'll see everyone again when the baby comes, it's always fun when family reunites.

Two more days and I'll be 37 weeks. Full term!! Any day now I guess they say?? i hope she comes but I hope she stays longer so she will be healthier and stronger.

It's been quite a journey. Learned about some many new things. I know I'm ready. I know I will be fine. I know my mom is holding my hand and helping me through this all. I would love to be the mom she was to me. And I will.. Ava, mommy is ready. See you soon!

35 weeks and 5 days

As I get closer to the date, I am going to try to blog a little more. Since the last time I blogged, I've been feeling pretty good. No more false alarms, no extreme pains, but aches here and there. Eating has been awesome. Cravings?? Very random now. If I smell something, I may want to eat it. Hahaha.

I have to say being pregnant has been amazing and a great experience. Very lucky to have had a good one. A couple years ago I went from thinking I could never have kids to now voila! A baby girl on the way. Timing couldn't be better. People have asked "what about baby #2?". I'll be honest, I have my days. Yes and no to that question. I always wanted a big family, but that was a fantasy and if I won the lottery. Reality, nowadays it's harder. Our parents made it look easy. Yet life was much simpler before.

Yesterday I made canh Chua dau hu. I was pretty proud of myself. Those who know me, I rarely cook. I try to cook often, but just no time. My ultimate judge was my dad, and well he ate it and liked it! Whew! My goal this year is to cook often. Hopefully I can be like my mom, who cooked amazing and people still rave about her food now. I want Ava to know her roots. Yeah I grew up very americanized, but it wouldn't hurt to know her basics. I pray she isn't a picky eater.

Closer to the date, I'm refreshening up on all my books and things. Checking if I missed anything. This waiting game is torture! what would we do if we didn't have the Internet? I am glad to say I have my clients who have helped me immensely with everything. All the advices and tips I got has been great. This mom life is going to be a journey but I can't wait. So much to learn and so much to experience. It's going to be for the good! I can't wait till Ava comes.

Oh! So my little brother Jeff went skydiving. I must say I was worried, but when he landed he called me and said "Ava wanted her uncle." Haha so cute. He flew solo and steered his way down w a parachute. Quite proud. He def has a lot of stories to tell miss Ava. I just hope she doesn't follow his dare devil footsteps! I can see it now, tutu on a dirt bike. Ah! Lol not bad considering that was me when I was a kid.

So a few more days and I'll be in my last month!!! Quite unreal! To those who follow my blog, thanks for keeping up! Ava, when you read this years from now, I'm so happy you're in my life. You make me so happy! You make daddy happy! We can't wait to play and love you to pieces!!!

Xoxo

Baby cantaloupe

The baby grows faster than ever! At 35 weeks now and I feel completely prego now. Belly dropped a bit and now I can feel my belly rest on my lap when I sit haha! Baby kicks are super strong. It's so strong that at 4am in the morning, I woke up and felt her kicking. Soon after, the bed kept thumping with her kicks and woke Paul up haha. Guess it's her way to prepare us what's coming soon.

Went to the doctors on Monday and I've doing good! I am still on my every 2 week check up. Did my group b strep test and had my measurements checked. Baby seems to be doing good. Yesterday was the first time, I experienced false alarm contractions. Perhaps the Braxton contractions. It definitely scared me. Scared me so much I had a dream of baby Ava arriving. The dream was Jeff and I in grade school in our uniforms. My water broke and I ran down the hall to tell him my water broke, and we had to run to the hospital quick. So we ran and got there. Paul came and pop there she was! Very weird but I remember waking up smiling and the realizing that she is still in my belly.

So reality is, I'm still in the waiting mode. We have everything ready. Car seat is in the car. Had the friendly firemen help install in and double check it for us. All the pre admission forms are filled and ready. Very sweet that Ava and I will be sharing the same hospital. I was born at St. Elizabeth as well and now my baby girl will too!

The baby room is all set to go. We got everything in and washed. Lately I've been shopping online and I have many carts filled with goodies waiting to be submitted hahaha. Just waiting to see how big she will be. So now you can see why I've been impatient. Waiting for princess to come and make more memories.

I can't wait!!

So this week...

My cravings: Dunkin donuts with chocolate frosting and a mini blast

Weight gain: 7.2lbs

Kicks: a million times stronger

Stretch marks: zero

Energy level: a bit slower now and more tired. Naps sound so good!

Work left till I'm off: 2 more weeks, but if she isn't here I will prob still be at work haha

Till next week...
Ava, mommy loves you!

Nesting ....

Well, I started nesting way before, but it is officially now. Week 34 and I am making sure everything is organized and ready for our baby girl to come. Room is done! House is ready! Hospital bag is in the car! Mentally I am ready, which we all know we are never ready, but I am.

Looking back from when I first found out till now, I'm amazed how things have changed. Not just physically, but also everything. My family, my brothers, my relationship with friends, my work, my values and daily routine. I use to call myself selfish, because it was all about me. I did things for me. Worked hard for me, and reached goals for me. Now, it's for the family. My family. My husband and child. I have to say, I am truly blessed with an amazing husband. I tell him everyday how lucky I am to have him. Of course if you know Paul, he smiles and replies "i know." Never have I met a more kinder gentle soul like his. There's never a day he doesn't smile. He's so sweet with his words. Not a mean bone in his body. I hope Ava has his traits. Patience, honesty, and being real. I hope she learns how to cook like him too! I'm def trying but cleaning and organizing and running a business is more my forte. Haha

Many have asked what I plan on doing when she comes. Well, I'll have her, off for 6-8 weeks, and then back to work. We have a nanny all ready for her and I couldn't be more happier. With our hours at work, it can be demanding and hard, but I'm lucky to find someone who understands our work and is going to be an amazing influence on our daughter. I'm sure it will be hard to part, but our parents did it and we turned out okay. :) I think...

It's very exciting to think holidays are around the corner, and I'll have a daughter to celebrate it with! I cannot wait to share with her my family traditions my mom did with me. Holidays for a bit was hard because I use to share all these memories with my mom, but Ava arriving has definitely changed it and brought it back to life for me.

Vietnamese name... Hmmm
Honestly Paul and I never thought of it till my family mentioned it. I grew up with a full American name. Paul has his Vietnamese name as a middle name, but people still call him Paul. We gave Ava a full American name, but the last of course. Though, having a Vietnamese name won't hurt.
It's funny, as we were going through the list, every name I liked, Paul would reply "that's my sister, that's my cousin, that's my aunt." Well shoot by the time I was done, nothing was left hahaha. No wonder we are having a daughter. His side is full of girls. My side mainly boys. So the hunt is still on. Will we use the Vietnamese name? Probably not, but we all had one. Will keep looking.

Next on the list, baptism... And it keeps going!!
So as you can see my 34 weeks has been getting ready for the baby. I can't wait for her to come!! Paul is so ready too!! Oh and Bentley is not ready. Poor guy barks at my belly when she kicks his head on my belly...

Love you Ava!!

Everything happens in 3s...

It's thirty three weeks!! 6 weeks and 4 days left till Ava's due date (dd.)

Size of a pineapple and I am definitely feeling the growth. Getting out of bed is a little harder. Walking far distances, harder and bathroom hang outs?? Well I'm a regular now :) I'm still pregnant and in heels, sometimes.

Ava, your room has been delayed. So many things have happened this week that I'm in a whirlwind. hopefully this weekend, daddy and I will have everything done. It's gonna be so cute!! Majority of the things are done, just gotta dazzle it up with some diva touches :)

Wishing my brother Dom a happy birthday week!! Welcome to papa for coming home!! And yay to all the bad stuff over with so we can make more happy memories.

This weekend is our 7th year anniversary! Time flies!! Married for 7 and now having a baby... Lucky 7 :)

Love you Ava! I can't wait for you to come.
Xoxo

Baby baby baby babies everywhere!

A group of my friends are pregnant. I know a total of 7+ that are pregnant this year and baby showers galore. It is so fun to be able to share this experience with my gal pals.

On July 9th, my friends and I, who I grew up with and met in college, decided to do a group maternity shoot together. Such a fun time! Washington square park just opened downtown. Renovated and such a pretty place. Thanks to Son for taking our photos and his adorable soon to be wife helping us!

In the photos, we are due August, September, October, November. Haha so cute! 3 boy dragons and 1 baby girl... Enjoy!

Baby adventures galore!

It's been quite a while since I have blogged.  Between juggling a business and keeping my personal life sane has been quite an adventure, but I'm still going, just very slowly now.

It's 32 weeks now!  8 weeks to go and Baby Ava is kicking so much!  It's so funny to see my belly jiggle and wiggle and squirm.  She's so strong!  My belly has definitely grown, and many of my friends have commented "You finally look pregnant!"  hahaha

So what's been going on for the past 3 weeks??  I have so many great memories and I have so many people to thank.  During my 30 week, I had 2 baby showers all in the same weekend.  Crazy huh?  That's how I do it.  I like to make my life as stressful as possible and cram in everything at one time.  It was a very exciting weekend full of laughter and joy and tears.  I had such a wonderful time seeing everyone.  Baby Ava is such a lucky girl to be surrounded by people who love her.

I have to thank Taylor and Ginger for the AMAZING Sassy Baby Shower on Saturday.  I cannot thank you both enough for throwing me this shower.  I am so blessed to have wonderful clients, who have become great friends and now family, to share this special moment with me.  And all the cute cute gifts!!  Thank you to all my clients who showed up and to those who couldn't make it and sent gifts, THANK YOU!  As some have seen me, the room is all set and ready.  I got it all organized and cleaned! haha  Love you all very much!  

After that, we had friends and family from out of town coming in.  Saturday night ended up as a big party and a big reunion for Paul's buddies.  Some flew in, some drove in and we couldn't have been happier.  We then continued onto Sunday at the shower and after.  A HUGE thank you to my sister in laws: Erin, Michelle, and Nancy.  The baby shower was adorable and I was so happy to see both sides of the family together in one room.  They did amazing job and it was definitely a moment to remember!

Ava received so many great gifts, but one that stands out is this painting my brother, Joe, made for Ava.  The story behind this was, when I was thinking of getting pregnant, I was roaming on Pinterest.  I came  across this art photo of this elephant and it made me smile.  It reminded me of my childhood watching DUMBO with Jeff and how my mom would always have statues of elephants all over the house.  I asked Joe one day if he could paint it, since he's so artistic.  Of course, typical brother told me to just take it to Kinkos and get it printed on canvas.  So I was going to do that, till the shower...TA DA!!  I unwrapped the brown paper and saw this!  The original was actually with a red balloon, Ava's pink.  I love it!!  I def teared up and am so thankful!  Thanks big bro!  Nee loves it!  and Ava will too!

Thank you to everyone who has sent gifts.  Paul and I are truly thankful and we cannot wait for Ava to see it all!  Moments like this I really get emotional and I know my mom is looking down and smiling.  She's also thanking you for being such supportive friends and family!  

Thank you!!

As for the 32 weeks so far, my movement has been slower.  I'm still working and getting the house all ready for Ava.  Paul's been extra awesome and has been having dreams of Ava.  It's so cute!

As of right now....

Weight gained:  6lbs.

Clothes:  still normal, but pants are getting really irritating, so dresses it is!

Baby kicks:  so strong and so big!

Cravings:  raisinets and bun or soupy things

Next doctor visit:  Monday ...starting my 2 week check ups

Today:  started feeling tightness, could this be the mini contractions prepping my body for her arrival??

Swelling:  none as of yet...

Sleep:  getting harder, waking up at night more.  God's preparing me Ava!  

More updates soon...i cannot believe 8 more weeks!!

XoXo:   Nee