Tuesday, August 30, 2011

courtesy of Jason

our ever optimistic friend

Sunday, August 28, 2011

36 weeks


Baby Shower!

Saturday was our baby shower- it was so amazing! I can't believe it took almost 1 hour to open all our WONDERFUL presents!
We are so blessed and got so many great gifts.
THANK YOU EVERYONE!















Saturday, August 27, 2011

baby shower

TODAY!

and we already have a ton of presents! (we are so blessed)

pictures to follow!!!!!!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

35 weeks

a whole lot of belly

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Year of the Rabbit

Chinese Zodiac - Rabbit


Personality
Occupying the 4th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rabbit symbolizes such character traits as creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. Rabbits are friendly, outgoing and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflict. In confrontational situations, Rabbits approach calmly and with consideration for the other party. Rabbits believe strongly in friends and family and lacking such bonds can lead to emotional issues.
Their serene nature keeps Rabbits from becoming visibly upset. Because they’re serene animals, Rabbits are easily taken advantage of. Their sensitive nature makes them shy away from aggressive or competitive situations. They’re overall conservative and not interested in taking risks.

Classy, sophisticated, expressive, well-mannered and stylish, those born under the Sign of the Rabbit enjoy leaning about cultural issues and learning about people from other countries. Rabbits are most comfortable being home, and their homes are always neat and organized. Home is also where Rabbits prefer to entertain. Rabbits are conservative in their decorating tastes.
Rabbits should work at building more self-confidence and self-worth so they can feel more secure. The desire for remaining in safe, comfortable environments keeps Rabbits from taking risks which sometimes causes them to miss out on good opportunities.

Health
Even though Rabbits don’t usually get visibly upset or stressed, they do tend to keep these feelings inside. When they don’t express these feelings, such feeling can cause Rabbits to become ill. Rabbits could benefit from more everyday activity which would reduce their stress levels and better their health.

Relationships
Rabbits are very sexual, but tend to give more of themselves than they should. This can lead to unrealistic expectations and unhealthy situations. Rabbits need partners who won’t take advantage of their giving nature. Such pairings will be strong.

Career
Rabbits are articulate and good communicators which is why friends and acquaintances seek out their advice. It’s also why Rabbits make excellent diplomats and politicians. Other good careers for Rabbits include: writer, publisher, actor, fashion designer, therapist, doctor, administrator, public relations, and teacher.

Rabbits and the 5 elements

Metal Rabbits – Years 1951 and 2011 (Our baby :])
Metal gives Rabbits more strength, resilience and determination. Metal Rabbits are more intense in their actions, whether they’re work-related or romantic.



Fire Rabbits – Years 1927 and 1987 (Austina)
Fire adds spark to the Rabbit’s personality and all that Fire Rabbits do. Fire compels Rabbits to seek new adventures. Prone to tantrums, Fire Rabbits prefer to avoid conflict.

http://www.chinesezodiac.com/rabbit.php

The Legendary Stories of the Chinese Moon Festival

The Dates of Chinese Moon Festival
The 15th day of the 8th lunar month

Year China Time Zone Pacific Standard Time Zone Eastern Standard Time Zone
2008 9/14/2008 9/13/2008 9/13/2008
2009 10/03/2009 10/02/2009 10/02/2009
2010 9/22/2010 9/22/2010 9/22/2010
20119/12/20119/12/20119/12/2011
2012 9/30/2012 9/29/2012 9/29/2012

The Stories of the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival


I. The Lady - Chang Er

The time of this story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day, Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life in order to save the people from her husband's tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn't shoot down the moon.

Note: Chang'e 1 Lunar orbiter was launched to the moon on October 24, 2007. The Chang'e moon satellite, named after Chang Er, will take 3-D images of the moon surface for yearlong. This is the groundwork for the next Lunar Lander (Chang'e 2) project in 2012 , Lunar Sample Return (Chang'e 3) in 2017 and Chinese astronaut on the moon project.

Update: The Chinese moon probe, called Chang'e 2, launched on October 1, 2010 to commemorate the 61st China National Independent Day. Chang'e 3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the moon in 2013.


II. The Man - Wu Kang

Wu Kang was a shiftless fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time. One day he decided that he wanted to be an immortal. Wu Kang then went to live in the mountains where he importuned an immortal to teach him. First the immortal taught him about the herbs used to cure sickness, but after three days his characteristic restlessness returned and he asked the immortal to teach him something else. So the immortal to teach him chess, but after a short while Wu Kang's enthusiasm again waned. Then Wu Kang was given the books of immortality to study. Of course, Wu Kang became bored within a few days, and asked if they could travel to some new and exciting place. Angered with Wu Kang's impatience, the master banished Wu Kang to the Moon Palace telling him that he must cut down a huge cassia tree before he could return to earth. Though Wu Kang chopped day and night, the magical tree restored itself with each blow, and thus he is up there chopping still.


III. The Hare - Jade Rabbit

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit."


IV. The Cake - Moon Cake

During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.


The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the fall harvesting season on this date.



The moral of this story is that if the baby comes 10 days early, it will be especially special to my dad and our family :] We always celebrate the Harvest Moon and eat mooncake every year- especially because Austina was born near this time as well. SO instead of cigars, we may be passing out mooncake!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

33 weeks

my goodness I am getting huge! I hope that means the baby is  healthy but not too big... I don't think I can push out a 9 lb baby!

things are good so far- just the normal ankle swelling, peeing every 10 minutes, being hot and sweaty all the time, and of course being tired all the time again! This makes me feel SO sympathetic for women who carry twins.. or more!

we are checking a lot of things off our "we are having a baby" to do list, and the nursery is almost completely set up! All we need is the changing table my dad is making (only needs 1 last coat of varnish).

I started packing our bag for the hospital, and the diaper bag is all packed for baby... just in case she comes too early! We are knee deep in classes- baby care, prepared childbirth, car seats, breastfeeding, etc. It's a crazy month! Tony also has to squeeze in finishing the fence too!

The baby shower is August 27th- I am SO EXCITED!!!! We have a few key items on the registry that we need (like a car seat/stroller combo and bassinet) and of course a lot of other fun things to have! I can't wait to see all my family and friends- plus Austina is hosting in her beautiful new home!

Yes, I am still working, and will work until I pop! It helps keep me active and distracted from being so huge and uncomfortable :] everyone is very accomodating and no one makes fun of my super sexy compression hose (to keep the ankle swelling down) or my super sexy maternity support belt (for my back and to help alleviate some of the weight on my bladder).

As my due date gets closer and closer, it becomes so much more real that we will be parents in less than 2 months! It is extremely exciting and we are so blessed to have had a healthy pregnancy :]

Thanks for all the support and love!