35 weeks and counting

Brad got a new iPhone, you know for the baby and the grandmas....so we are able to take pictures and videos of the baby and send them QUICKLY :-) We have been having a fun time taking pictures, using "facetime" and video skype and much more.

4 months 8 months+

The picture at 8 months is a bit dark but I do have dark circles under my eyes...sleep can best be described these days as "evasive". Why painful Braxton hicks have to strike in the middle of the night is a mystery.

Getting the baby gear set up has been taking some time. I wanted to highlight the amazing knobs that we bought for this dresser in Thailand. They really spiced up that Ikea dresser. Now to set up the crib and get the wall decorations/rug bought. Oh and start watching the birth DVDs and reading those sections in the book.....:-)

Our weekend

We actually remembered to take some pictures this weekend and wanted to share with you some of what we usually do on the weekends.

Supper Club

Saturday we had our monthly supper club (at lunch time) with two couples from our school. Our friend's Heather and Blair's baby Carter (11 months) and our baby may share the same birthday. Our other friends Mel and Rus are expecting their first baby the beginning of August.

Heather was amazed that Mel got Carter (a busy little boy) to sit and read a book :-)

Wishing Tree Festival

Then today we went down to the Wishing Tree to see what all the Chinese New Year festivities were all about. There was an amazing crowd and the whole area is a little like the fair with incense and wishes.

Brad at the entrance of our village

This famous temple is from the 1700s

We were able to watch people throw their wishes up in the tree. We are not sure what happens to your wish when the plastic orange doesn't stay on the branch.

Laundry
Also drum roll please......the dryer was delivered! We dried our first load of sheets and it is amazing how quickly they dried :-) It is up in our stairwell by the door of the roof. We use the area for storage too and don't worry there isn't really a live animal on top of the dryer.

34 weeks pregnant

Picture of me and baby at 33 weeks in Thailand

We just went to the doctor for my 34 week appointment. Brad's parents were able to come with us and see our little baby on the ultrasound. The doctor had a very hard time getting a good picture of the face because she is so squished inside. We were able to see her sucking on her lip, putting her hands in her hair and making a fist. It was so very fun to see her look like a perfectly formed little baby, although the pictures this month were not very clear!

Profile of baby's face, her foot is up by her face

Some highlights/statistics from the appointment and this month

*First time to have swollen ankles for an extended time, which was NOT fun (see previous Thailand post for the horrific pictures)

*I have had to go the bathroom every 30-40 minutes and am so very thirsty, which makes for a fitful night sleep.

*Have had a lot of Braxton hicks contractions at night, which feel very weird. The baby also gets hiccups about twice a day, which are fun.

* My blood pressure is great and I now weigh 127 lbs (no stretch marks....yet). It is hard to believe that my belly will be able to stretch more than it has already!

* The baby is average size, on the Asian growth chart, which means she will be a little smaller by US standards, which is alright by me. The doctor confirmed again that we are still having a girl. He is 100% sure and so am I, the ultrasound was very clear :-)

* The baby is still head up and the doctor is giving the baby 3 weeks to turn. If she doesn't turn then we will either have to schedule a C section or do this procedure where the doctor manually and externally tries to turn the baby. We are praying that she flips around on her own!

* Now that Brad's parents are gone I feel like all the baby projects can begin and I feel like we have a lot to do. Time to set up the crib, bouncy seat, get clothes washed...the list goes on. My my parents-in-law bought us a dryer that comes TODAY! YAY. I will post a picture as soon as it gets here :-)

Thailand

It has been a full two weeks with Brad's parents visiting. We enjoyed having them in our home and having them experience our lives here in HK. They left yesterday morning and since sleep has been fleeting the last few weeks, I thought I might as well get up and blog a little (since I am very behind).

As soon as we arrived we left for Thailand. With doctor permission notes (Asian airlines are very afraid to let pregnant ladies fly), swim suits and summery clothes we boarded our flight to Singapore where we spend the day sight seeing and then to one of our two destinations in Thailand, Phuket. Brad enjoyed two days of diving (he saw amazing coral, schools of brightly colored fish, and about 6 sea turtles). Brad's parents went on a boat trip to explore the surrounding island and I stayed by the pool. It was a very relaxing time of reading, napping, pedicures, massages, eating great food and trips to the downtown area.

Brad got a fancy drink in a coconut :-)

A picture of my delicious fish dinner for my friend Kalina, who loves to see/hear about food in other countries

On our last night in Phuket we went out for a fancy dinner and light lanterns on the beach. Brad also found a guy selling fireworks, which he took full advantage of (sorry no picture, I was too busy being worried that he was going to loose a finger or two).

On our way to the airport we did a little sight seeing, including a huge Buddha, some temples and a beautiful orchid market.

Good thing we all left our "hot pants" at home

Then we were off to Bangkok. Brad took his parents to sight see, while I attended an ESL professional development workshop. I developed terribly swollen ankles that lasted the whole trip and into the next week back home. Thankfully after a week of cooler HK weather and compression socks they went away and I have more normal looking ankles again. However they did make sight seeing very difficult, so I was glad for the conference and a chance to sit in the AC!

"oh skinny ankles, how I did miss thee"

Then on our last day in Bangkok we explored the huge Chatuchak market. It is over 27 acres with 15000 shopping stalls, selling everything from fake & real flowers, miniatures, antiques, food, clothing...much much more. We spent about 4 hours there and only scratched the surface. My favorite purchase of the day: great decorative knobs for the baby's dresser!

Apparently there has been an outbreak of sasquatch that have come to try and hug the Buddah's in Thailand :-)

Happy Year of the Dragon

Chinese New Year holiday is about to start! Yes we get another break, one of the many perks of being a teacher. Brad thinks it is very cool that our baby is going to be born in the year of the dragon, much more hardcore than the year of the rabbit (last year) :-) We are excited for what God has in store for us this year.

Brad's parents arrive in a couple days and we are off to Thailand. We decided it would be best to leave our village for Chinese New Year since we live by a sacred tree, the "Wishing Tree" and it is impossible to leave or enter the village due to massive crowds.

We will be sure to put up pictures of our holiday in Thailand and adventures with Brad's parents when we get back.

Baby and belly update

Only a little over two months and baby Christensen will be here! We are busy getting the house ready for her to come. Here are some pictures and 7 highlights of this past month/being 7 months pregnant.

1) Belly shot from before Christmas break (6 months)



2) Belly getting BIG: I am getting much more pregnant looking and little kids keep asking why "my belly is so big" (7 months)


3) At 2am the baby had her first hiccups, which felt amazing. I almost woke Brad up...but then realized that he doesn't really enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night :-)

4) Dee (Brad's grandpa's wife) gave us money to buy a dresser for the baby. Her little clothes are folded inside and all her all stuff. It is amazing how such a little person has so much stuff already. The top of the dresser will become a changing table (we will get it ready in February, when Brad's parents leave...
5) Here are a few fun items that baby Christensen has received as gifts or bought by us (I just had to pick a few things because there is a lot in those drawers). My friend Irene bought baby C her first pair of red sparkle shoes. My friend Kalina bought baby C her first baby doll. We finally decided (and bought) cloth diapers. Many people are doubting our ability to keep up with the wash/hassle of them....BUT they are already bought and we think we can do it. Also, I bought baby C's baby book, now I need to start filling it in :-)


6) My last doctor's appointment went really well. I have gained 24 lbs, great blood pressure, had my first of three RH negative injection (didn't really hurt). We got to watch her move around on the ultrasound. The ultrasound picture quality isn't great because the doctor gave us a picture instead of giving us a digital image like usual. We think their might be a bubble by her nose on the second picture because it looks a little strange.

She weights about 3lbs and is about the size of a little pumpkin. So here is a picture of Brad, Rudy and our little pumpkin. When the baby is born Rudy will be happy as long as he still gets a small part of Brad's lap :)

7) Brad's sister Stacy bought Rudy a few new toys for Christmas and he loves them. We will wait and bring out the other one once the baby comes :-) In the background you can see me enjoying my 200 page cook book that Brad bought me for Christmas.

Merry Christmas....

So it is a little late but I wanted to put up some pictures from Christmas break. A good friend of mine (that I got to see during Christmas break) reminded me that I "would blog more during Christmas break" and she reminded me I was crazy to think that would happen.

We had a very fun time in the US seeing family (especially spending time with our CUTE little nephews), friends, shopping for baby stuff and Brad went skiing (and didn't break any bones). We didn't bring a camera to the US so I am still waiting for my father in law to send me a few pictures, but he did already send me a few.





The quilt my mom lovingly made for us

The downside to going to the US for only two weeks is that you remember the LONG LONG flight instead of being able to forget about it (like I usually do over the two month holiday). I'm 7 months pregnant now and feeling really good. Flying while pregnant was interesting, people are definitely more helpful and I wasn't air sick at all (amazing), however, the swollen ankles and the tray table hitting the belly was not so fun. My lovely parents in law bought me compression socks, so me and old people everywhere have the same pair of socks :-) Flying makes the baby very active, so she must already have a love of traveling although I hope she will be sedate on the plane once she is born!

The Christensen Family on Grandpa Chris's birthday.