Only 15 weeks to go...

Today--25 weeks and then some



Being More Productive
In an effort to be more productive when I am at home, I have been "training" myself to do things other than go on the computer when I have some free time. It is all too easy to just park it here. This is helping me to not save Bible study time until I can't even keep my eyes open and to work more on the mini plushies I am making for our little one. So far, things are going really well with that.


I made the fox on Sunday and just finished the bear today. They are far from perfect, but they are full of love. ♥ As you might be able to guess, I basically used myself as the "model" for the fox. As much as I love the fox, I love the bear that much more. I designed the face imagining our little boy's bright and cheerful smile, so how can I not be in love with it?

I was going to do either a rabbit or frog next, but Appa is jealous I haven't modeled one after him yet, and using his face for a frog or rabbit just doesn't fit. I wanted to do a white tiger, but that would take ages with all of the stripes. We'll see!

Kicking My Butt
Our son has been having a blast just squirming around all over the place recently. He's been head's up again the past few days, and I have no idea where his nap time antics today have him positioned right now as he wiggles about. All I know is that he was literally kicking my butt all morning. He's a really funny boy. He usually flips back down when watching MMA (mixed martial arts), so we'll see how the K-1 match on Sunday works out. (That's what got him back down last time! I was sleeping, and he stayed up watching with Appa.)

Back to School...
Not really school, but we will be going to our first birthing-related class on Monday. It's sort of an intro class to one we are planning on taking for three Saturdays in September since August is pretty busy for us. I am very interested to see how it goes. To my understanding, it's a different sort of birthing technique, if not just simply breathing/relaxation technique, called Sophrology, which is more popular in France and apparently Asia. It sounds like it lines up with other pain management methods, so we'll see how it goes.

Our hospital offers a ton of different classes for free, so I think we'll also be taking one on Thursday morning next week. I'm very blessed to have a pretty relaxed morning schedule that allows me to move things around a bit in order to be able to take advantage of some of these classes.

There are classes that are offered by an expat who is a doula here that seem really great, but we're going to try these options first since they are free of cost and much easier for us to access. We'll see how it goes! If I still feel like I need something more, I will look into taking her course as well.

So in Love
It's been amazing how much our love has grown for our little one since being able to give him a little bit more of an identity with knowing that he is indeed a he. (Not to say we won't have this love if he somehow ends up a she!) We've both been so enamoured from the start, but putting a name to him and just getting to imagine our lives with our little boy has just been amazing for us both. Hee Suk has always sent me cute text messages as if they were from our baby and has loved being close to my tummy and kissing it right from the start, but he does it far more now. It's really an incredible thing to not only realize how much your love has grown, but how much another's has as well. He talks to him all of the time as well (as do I), and it just brings me so much joy.

The American Economy
News reports here have Obama stating that the American economy is on an upward trend, that it will only get better from here on out. Experts have revealed, though, that Obama has based this information solely on the sudden increase in sales at the Lakeville Super Target, where Ash's Grandmother has single-handedly met the entire year's sales goals by shopping in the infant's department alone.

OK, that might be exaggerating it a tad, but Grandma really has wasted no time in grabbing some great finds. Ash has just given me a good kick in the bum as a way of saying, "Many thanks, Grandma!"

"Big" Purchase
Even though we've got some time on our side still, I have been itching to just get things bought. This desire has been slightly satisfied by our most recent purchase for baby--the Pognae (Official Site).

We were going to order the sheep pattern for an additional 20,000￦ (around $20), but what kept us from doing so wound up being the black straps--not a fan of black for baby stuff. We thus just ordered Indigo Light, in addition to the newborn insert and the straps you can attach for baby to kind of suck on instead of gnawing on the actual carrier. We figure having the cutest design on the face of this planet isn't *that* critical, so we'll buy something else ridiculously adorable with the money, for sure.

The Pognae is the Korean equivalent of the Ergo but is much less expensive (and far cuter, in my opinion!). I am really excited about it.

Coming Up in August
We've got two baby fairs we are planning on attending. Since I don't like doing "big" things on Sundays (it's just so exhausting for me), that will take up two of our Saturdays. We *might* not end up going to the one in Ilsan, but I would like to so long as we are up to it. We have a few things we know we will be purchasing because of the great deals they offer there, so we'll see what we walk away with! The timing is absolutely perfect, too--we can be sure the photo package we signed up for is indeed the best deal/quality just before hitting the point where I should be getting my maternity portraits done, and it's just an all-around great time to start cramming in stuff for baby in our place.

This month's doctor's appointment is also right at 28 weeks, which means it's time for the RhoGAM shot. I feel bad for any pregnant woman who sustains a fear of needles throughout pregnancy and beyond.

A Special Announcement
Happy Birthday, Grandpappy!


That's about it for now. Appa will be home shortly, and I think that covers most of what's been going on recently.

Our Heavenly Father, You have blessed us with such wonderful people in our lives to share in the joy of bringing this little boy you have sent to us into this world. Please bless them greatly, holding them in Your hands in their trials as You have continually done for us. You are so amazing!