100 days and counting down

Yesterday was my birthday and I had work like usual. My kids made me a peanut butter pie and it was DELICIOUS, even if I don't like peanut butter really. But we all know I like anything sweet right now so it HIT THE SPOT.

I ended work early to take my dogs out for a walk, hang out with them for a little bit before heading to the bulls game. My kids and the dad wanted to take me to the bulls game for my birthday since they were playing.

One man's mistake is another man's gain - Steve (the dad) accidently gave the games tickets away to a business friend instead of keeping them since they never go to the weekday games. What he forgot was that it was my birthday, but more importantly that the kids were on spring break. He just assumed he had the tickets all along and on the way home got a phone call from the wife asking if he had the tickets since the tickets weren't in the book. Well, he didn't have the tickets and that's when it hit him that he gave them away and didn't have tickets to the game. As the 4 year old Shyanne is screaming "daddy forgot about us" and 7 year old Justin is upset that both himself and I cannot go to the game, Steve decided he would look for tickets. Usually it's not a hard thing to look for tickets for weekday games but since its spring break for half of the schools in Chicagoland area, all tickets were sold out at ticketmaster and will call. His last resort was to go to Stub Hub and look for tickets, which he lucked out by finding 4 tickets. The only thing is, instead of using his season tickets, he now had to probably pay anywhere from $75-100 per ticket. Nonetheless, we got to sit in awesome seats right behind one of the hoops in the 100 level. Probably the best seats both Eugene and I have ever sat in for a bulls game. Definitely a WIN for us.

Here is what our view looked like, we were close enough that I could actually see D.Rose' facial expressions.

We didn't win, which was a stinker but it was nice to see the game from somewhere we never have before. Justin cried, he wasn't too happy that the bulls lost and well he's never been to a game where they've lost before. He was yelling "that's unfair, unfair, unfair" and it made Eugene and I realize the fanship in Justin. He is a true, loyal fan and he's probably more true to his Bulls than half the people on the stands, and he's only 7 years old. It also helps that he actually understands how to play basketball and is really quite good at playing as well.

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Onto the real great exciting news, today March 29 marks 100 more days left till your expected arrival. I'm hoping and praying that you do come somewhere near the date, please don't take an extra week or 2. I'd really like you to come out on time but if not don't wait too long. I can't believe earlier on in the pregnancy I was counting down for 200+ days and now we're only at 100 days left. Time sure is flying and I can't believe how close we are to the final stretch, this calls for a celebration! 

we're tired of papayas, good thing you've graduated to an eggplant

How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of Baby: Baby is the size of an eggplant - 13.6 to 4.8 inch, and 1.5 to 2.2 lbs, you're getting BIG! 

Other things baby is up to: You may not hear baby's heartbeat by just putting ear to belly (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of the tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside of the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'll go off the scale that I have at work, if that's the case I've gained 16 pounds throughout the pregnancy.

Movement: Getting tons of action from the little one. A little bit more than usual so that definitely brightens my day when I feel baby kicking and squirming inside. Nobody will understand the feeling of movement unless you are a mother or pregnant -- it's the most indescribable, amazing feeling. 

Sleep: I've been getting great sleep, probably thanks to the new place. I'm no longer really stressed about the move and can finally sleep and not worry about much. 

Symptoms: Nope, still lucking out with this one. Wait, I take that back, I get acid reflex which REALLY sucks. 

Maternity Clothes: Yep, just a few tops here and there, I'm still in my stretchy pants. Thank goodness I don't have to wear nice clothes to work. 

Belly Button: still an inny and looking the same. 

Milestones: I am finally in my 6th month of pregnancy! 

Looking forward to: I can't say I'm really looking forward to it, but my birthday is on Monday so I guess I'm looking forward to spending time with my friends and Eugene. On Saturday I'm having a birthday dinner/open house at my house with my family and Eugene's family and my little kid is having his 7th birthday party at his house so we might stop by for a little bit. On Sunday my church is having a bowling tournament. And then on my actual birthday, my kids are taking me to the Bulls game since they're playing on my birthday. Tuesday I'm having my small group from church come over for dinner/open house so that they can see the new place and I can cook them yummy Korean food. 

Next appointment: April 13, 2011 - and I get to take that nasty orange liquid to see if I have gestational diabetes, yippeeee (not). What I'm really looking forward to is that 2 weeks afterwards I'm having another ultrasound which will be exciting!

Other: I'm meeting my mom to get the curtain fabric and fabric for the glider so I'm pretty excited to how that's all going to come out. It'll be nice to have a print that is unique and special just for you. 

your home quarters for the years to come, the nursery

Eugene and I moved into our new place and the only thing I wanted to do was work on the nursery. With that said, the nursery was done within a day's span. Linda and I worked on putting up the tree, cutting out the birds, putting together the crib and then Linda and Jonathan worked on building the dresser. It was a group effort, with no effort from the father to be since he was on a bigger mission, to get the whole house unpacked. The only thing missing in the nursery now is Baby Chon. Wait, I take that back; the other thing missing is the wooden letters of baby's name, which obviously won't be revealed till baby is here. Hope you enjoy baby's home quarters as much as I love it.

Picture is taken from the doorway, so this is the "right" side of the nursery. Pictured is the exersaucer which is being put into the living room when baby gets here, crib and dresser, and then the bassinet which will be put into our room for late night feedings, changings, etc.

Above the crib is this bible verse that I cut out:

This bible verse is held close to both Eugene and my heart, this was the bible verse our pastor spoke to us about during our wedding. It has become a bible verse we try to remember throughout everything we do. I think its fitting for the Baby Chon to remember this throughout his/her life, and to remember that God is the foundation of our family.

On the left side of the of the nursery is our glider. The bouncy seat will probably be put downstairs for entertainment purposes. I love this tree in the baby's nursery, I can't get enough of how beautiful the tree is and how great of an accent it makes on the whole bedroom.

That's pretty much it, simple. I love simplicity. I'd show you the closet of filled up clothes but then I'd be giving away the gender so I won't be able to give a more in depth look at the nursery till after the big reveal. Either way, baby boy/girl is SPOILED and I can't believe how much s/he will have.

10 things I love about pregnancy

At the beginning of 20 weeks, I wrote a blog titled "10 things I hate about pregnancy". I realized I should write a blog about what I actually do love about pregnancy since pregnancy has been so great to me. Here is a listo f 10 things I love about pregnancy, they are in no specific order since most of the things I love don’t trump over the other things on the list.

10. Eating what I want when I want without having to worry about getting “fat”. This doesn’t mean I eat junk all day long, but I get to indulge in candy and cookies a little more frequently then I used to plus I have an excuse.

9. A growing belly – I love to take pictures each week and see how much my stomach has changed throughout the weeks. I think it’s amazing that there’s a little human inside of you.

8. The miracle of life – Going on with the thought of #9, I think it’s incredible to think that there is actually another person inside of you. When I think about the miracle of life it awes me and makes me 100% sure there is a God, not that I ever doubt it, but it makes my belief in the higher power so much stronger. Then of course my mind goes deeper into thought about how amazing it is each thing in life works a certain way, has a certain function, and was created to do a certain job. Is it not miraculous that a human being can carry nurture another human being into this world? It’s so hard to wrap my head around how amazingly we were created.

7. Having a mini-me. I can’t believe Eugene and I are going to have someone that looks like us running around. A lot of people say I look exactly like my mom and that’s great and I love that I do, but it’s insane that now there is going to be someone else that is going to have the same features as me that I created. Plus the fact that the one person that I love and I are going to have one thing that resembles and symbolizes both of us absolutely amazes me.  

6. A heartbeat means life, the only way to tell if someone is living vs. dead is by listening to their heartbeat. Being able to find and listen to the first sound of a heartbeat early on during pregnancy is probably one of the most incredible feelings. Not only do you get to hear the heartbeat, but you also get to know that you were the one that created the heartbeat. When one gets pregnant, life does not always begin. Sometimes the life that you tried to create dies and never reaches the point to have a heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat is like winning the battle between the odds of life and death - the odds of life after hearing a heartbeat early on during pregnancy trumps the odds of death at about 4 in 5 ending with a living, healthy baby.

5. Building a strong family. I know that people have different views on family and just like everyone else, I have my own views. I think it’s important to have a strong foundation of family support. My mom raised both my brother and I on her own but we were also raised by my grandmother, aunts, and cousins. My cousins are like brothers to me and I loved the idea of knowing that I had a huge family, even though my immediate family only consisted of 3 people. Because of my own upbringing, I always knew I wanted to have a big family. Pregnancy is the first step to making this dream become a reality. I love knowing that I am starting my journey to creating a family.

Eugene didn’t have a very large family growing up. He has an older sister and his mother and father. He was never really close to his aunts, uncles, and cousins so he likes the idea that our children will have what he didn’t. If all else fails, at least they’ll have each of their siblings.

4. Support – I love knowing that pregnancy has brought me closer to my mother and even my mother in law. They are so excited for the little one and I have so much support from both sides of the family. Everyone is super excited for this new generation of Chons and its great to know that little one will have so much love and guidance. I love the support I am getting from all my friends as well. I even get random support from people I randomly meet.  

3. New friends – they say that in your life you have stages of friends and I really see this to be true. When I was in college, I had a core group of friends and then when I got married I lost and gained new friends. Now that I’m having a child, I have new friends that are also having/or have babies and I’m onto a new stage of friends. Not that I leave all my friends behind, but it’s nice to have new friends that can understand what I’m going through, help me with questions that I have, or just to talk to about everything big and small related to pregnancy. My old friends do like to hear about my pregnancy and how I’m doing but they just can’t understand what I’m going through, the emotional and mental background behind pregnancy and it’s nice to have friends that share my common state of mind.

2. My first signs of movement. It wasn’t until about week 20 that I felt my first signs of movement, little flutters that felt like gas pains. It really wasn’t until one of my friends explained to me what I should be looking for, that I really felt the exciting “butterfly in stomach” feeling. Now that I’m almost 25 weeks, I feel kicks and rolling around more frequently and I’m enjoying the feeling of knowing little one is making a home out of my body.

1. The relationship Eugene and I have gained through me being pregnant. Although I’m the one that’s pregnant, Eugene is just as big of a part of this pregnancy as I am. He supports me, helps me with things I can’t do on my own anymore, gets just as excited to feel little one kick, and basically goes through the same excitements that I go through; the only great thing is that he doesn’t have to deal with all the downsides that I do. Pregnancy has helped us get closer, realize that we need to work together to be great parents, and helped us mature in our relationship. We always sit and talk about “are you excited to have a daddy’s little girl?”, “will you be upset if your son doesn’t like sports?”, “what would you do if he/she decided to do this?” We can talk for hours about how we’re going to be as parents. We know that once the little one comes things will be different, but it’s always nice to debate, discuss, and compare how we want to do certain things as of now. I’m most excited about working with my best friend on having a family that WE want and not what anybody else wants or tells us to do. 

happy happy 24 weeks

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: Baby is still the size of a papaya - 10.5 - 11.8 inches and 12.7-20.8 ounces

Other things baby is up to: Baby's skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. And, thanks to the formation of small capillaries, his/her newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Alright so last week I thought I was up 17 pounds for the total pregnancy, but when I went to the doctor's office, I was pleasantly surprised that I am only up 12. WOOHOO!

Movement: Finally I'm getting more baby movement, I talked to the doctor about it and she said I probably won't feel real kicks till about 28 weeks. Eugene finally felt baby kick last night, how amazing!

Sleep: I haven't been getting pretty good sleep lately since I'm so excited for our big move, PLUS I've been feeling under the weather which isn't helping my sleep as well. 

Symptoms: No symptoms of pregnancy... I haven't had any this whole pregnancy other than exhaustion in my first trimester. 

Maternity Clothes: I finally busted out my maternity clothes this week and I didn't look pregnant at all! Amazing

Belly Button: looks the same as last weeks, still wide and not getting any shallower

Milestones: Eugene finally felt baby kick! What a huge milestone, especially when I hardly feel baby.

Looking forward to: Moving this weekend. We finally got to see the place yesterday and move some stuff in. The nursery looks awesome and I can't wait to get it all set up! 

Next appointment: April 13, 2011 - and I get to take that nasty orange liquid to see if I have gestational diabetes, yippeeee (not)

Other: Eugene was sick last weekend with a sore throat and runny nose, this week I'm feeling under the weather with a sore throat and headache. I really hope I don't have what Eugene had since he was sick for about a week and is still fighting off the runny nose. I NEVER get sick, so me being sick is a pretty big deal right now, especially with a little one.

let's talk about your brothers

I wanted a dog from when I was a little girl, animals make me happy. When I moved to Illinois, into the first house we've ever lived in, my family decided to get a dog. We had no clue what we were getting ourselves into and I was young enough to not understand the major responsibilities that it took to care for a dog, to say the least it didn't go so well. When my family moved into an apartment a year later, we decided to give our dog to our cousins in California. Her name is Kasey and she has a soft spot in my heart because she was my first pet ever and although she was insane, hyper, the hardest dog we could have ever asked for, I took for granted her loving personality. She actually still lived with my cousins in California but she's not doing so well. She's a pretty obese dog, with no exercise and it breaks my heart to see her that way but she's old now and exercise really won't help. Especially if she stops walking in the middle of the street to tell you that she's done walking for the day.

When Eugene and I got together in 2006, I for some reason decided to adopt a dog that I found on craigslist one random day in 2007. I was still too young to realize the responsibilities of having a dog, and especially getting a dog in a college apartment was probably not the smartest idea. I was young, stupid, and naive. I had no clue what I was doing and I didn't really think through my thoughts before acting upon them. After getting caught with Peanut one too many times, Eugene brought him to his parents house and Eugene's parents took care of them. Peanut was just way too much for them to handle, especially when they didn't ask to have a dog in the first place so they asked their aunt to take care of him on her farm. It was great for him because he loved to run around, play, have some freedom, and he had another dog and other animals to keep him company. One day, he never returned and that's where we leave it. I don't like thinking about what could have happened to him but all we know is that he must be in a better place.

Now on to your two brothers, Pistachio and Walnut.

Pistachio came into our family first in 2008. Whenever I pass by a pet shop, I always want to stop and look at the dogs even if its to look at them from the window. Well, one day Eugene and I passed by a pet store and I begged him to stop and let me look at the dogs. He reluctantly said yes and we went inside the pet store to see all the puppies in the store. We had about 30 minutes to kill since Eugene had basketball so I started asking to hold this puppy and that one instantly. I actually didn't come upon Pistachio until the end of our visit, probably because I had no clue what a Bichon Frise was and I was sticking to the puppies that I knew more of, yorkies, lhaso apso, poodle mixes, malteses, etc. But I looked into his window and really just wanted to hold him and get him out a little bit since he was sitting all alone and completely not engaging in any of the other customers that were in the store. He came into the little room with me and would not play at all! But, I fell in love with him. I liked the fact that he didn't need so much attention and that he wasn't nipping at my toes like all the other dogs did previously. I wanted him!  Sadly, our 30 minutes were up and we had to leave for Eugene's basketball game.

During the basketball game, I couldn't think about anything else but the little guy I left back at the pet store. It broke my heart that the store employee told me that he was "on sale" because he was there for too long and a family hasn't chosen him just yet. Throughout the whole game I couldn't think about anything else and started to research all about Bichon Frises and their temperment, potty training, personalities, etc. I then asked my roommates at the time if it would be okay if I brought a dog, just to get all the grounds cover just in case I was able to somehow have him for my own.

After the game, I told Eugene that I wanted to go back to the pet store and I told him that I knew exactly who  I wanted to be a part of my family. I told him that I couldn't stop thinking about anything but him and that if I didn't take him, my heart would break to think that he would be there for x amount of days. Eugene and I went back to the pet store, played with the pup and for who knows what reason, Eugene said that he liked him as well and wouldn't mind having him in the family. That was all I needed.

Pistachio was named and he was now family to us. He came back with me to DeKalb, my roommates loved him and he was the best pup anyone could ask for. He was so quiet, shy, and independent. After hiding him from our landlord for a good couple months, we got caught too many times, had to pay hefty fines, and needed to find an alternative home for him. (I know, I'm an idiot for even doing it to begin with but seriously, my heart just tells me to do stupid things sometimes.. but I definitely don't regret having him for one bit). Eugene asked his parents if he could bring home Pistachio and they said they'd do a trail run. Well to say the least, they fell in love with him and became part of their family very quickly.

I always knew I wanted to have a brother for Pistachio since Pistachio seemed so lonely when we had to leave him and it hurt me that he was always alone for long periods of time when Eugene was at work. I never thought we'd get another dog, but in March 2010 Walnut came into our family.

I was looking at craigslist, I do it all the time. Just searching dogs to see who is giving up what dog and why, I loved just looking at some of these dogs and awed at how cute they were. One post opened my eyes, a post about a Yorkie Mix that was being given up for adoption. Now, yorkies are pretty hard to come by so anytime I came upon a post about a yorkie, I opened it. Opening this post changed my life. Someone was giving up this yorkie mix because they found him roaming the streets and picked him up. The family that rescued him rescues dogs all the time and although they wanted to keep him, they knew they had to find a good home for him. I emailed the family just to see if he was still available and if I could see him; most yorkies find homes quickly since they're high in demand. I was surprised to receive an email saying that he was still looking for a home and that I could come by later that day to see him if I had the time. I just had to go and see him.

I went to the family's home and saw him for the first time. He just got neutered and had a cone over him head, he wasn't able to be groomed so he had hair covering his eyes, and he was just the cutest little dog anyone could ever lay eyes on. Needless to say, I took him home that day. I named him Walnut because we have a little trend Nuts in the family so since he was black and brown I instantly thought of Walnut. I love how people that hear our dogs' names always say things like "Oh you must love nuts, your husband and your two dogs", I've seriously heard it all.

Pistachio and Walnut were introduced to each other at our First Home. They instantly fell in love. I'm very lucky to have had Pistachio first because he's a very easy going guy who gets along with everyone. If we had Walnut first, I don't know if we'd be able to get another dog since he's a little bit more "vicious" and territorial. Either way, things worked out great and now we have two amazing little babies that I can't see myself living without.

Pistachio is definitely a fun loving guy who loves to cuddle and he's a daddy's boy. He follows Daddy around everywhere and whines when he can't be with him. Walnut is the opposite and is very independent, playful, and doesn't like to cuddle as much. Although he loves a great belly rub, he doesn't sit on our laps for long and would rather sleep on the floor than next to us. Walnut absolutely LOVES fetch. Pistachio on the other hand would rather sleep.

You are so lucky you'll be having two brothers. They are amazing and I'm pretty sure they know something big is happening soon (your arrival). We all can't wait for you to come and we're counting down the days, 117 more to go!

happy 23 weeks old

How Far Along: 23 Weeks

Size of Baby: Baby is still the size of a papaya - 10.5 - 11.8 inches and 12.7-20.8 ounces

Other things baby is up to: Baby's little face is fully formed... minus the baby fat, of course. The next task at hand for baby: sprouting two teeny-tiny nipples!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am now at +17 for the whole pregnancy. I've gained about 5 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I'm really hoping that I only gain about 25 pounds in this whole pregnancy but we'll see how that one works out.

Movement: Baby doesn't move around too much but s/he has been moving around a lot more for me lately.

Sleep: I've been getting very good sleep for the past week except last night when I woke up to go pee and couldn't go back to sleep for 30-60 minuets. I was really tempted to wake up Eugene and ask him to keep me company but I decided to be nice.

Symptoms: I'm feeling pretty great and don't have any symptoms so far, except waddling... is that a symptom? haha

Maternity Clothes: I do have maternity clothes but I haven't had to bust them out so far. I did wear one cute maternity top the other day and my nanny kids' father complimented me on it. It's always nice to get a compliment from a man, isn't it? haha

Belly Button: Eugene says my belly button looks wide (you can see how big my belly button is when I'm wearing a tight shirt) but either way it's still an inny.

Milestones: Does hitting 23 weeks count? I told Eugene that I think I'm ready for baby to make his/her appearance now since I'm tired of waddling everywhere.

Looking forward to: Next week there are TONS of things happening: I have a vet appointment for the fur babes to have their heart worm test done on Tuesday, my doctors appointment on Wednesday, and we'll be receiving our keys to the townhouse sometime next week as well. Plus we're moving in to our new place on Saturday!

Next appointment: March 16 2011

Other: I'm so excited to move and set up the nursery! I've been waiting for this move for about the past 6 months now, I know I'm insane. I just can't wait to finally be in a place that we can call more permanent since we knew this apartment wasn't that for us.

counting our blessings

(note: This blog, although public, is my personal journal for what is happening within my life and my family's. I do not intend to write these things to "brag" or "boast" about my life, but to give thanks for all that is given to me. I write these things so that I know in the future what I was going through: the circumstances, struggles, and successes. I hope that everyone can contain their judgement and rejoice with us, if not you can skip reading now)

We are so blessed to have been placed where we are, this year has been an amazing year for us. We haven't even celebrated our one year anniversary of being married and still everything is putting itself into place. I can only count my blessings and there are so many to count. Although there are always ups and downs, I can only see the great things that have happened in just a year.

Eugene and I got married in August 2010 and he told me he wanted to wait at least a year before having a child. He knew that I wanted a baby pretty much right away but stuck with his "one year plan". After a month of being married and after much discussion, Eugene and I decided we would not try or not not try to get pregnant. After only a few weeks, I found out I was pregnant. He would say he has some "strong men" but we all know that it was God's faithful plan. I still can't really grasp the fact that I'm pregnant and that in just 4 months, there will be another human being in our family.

Last March, Eugene and I moved into a 1 bedroom apartment in Wheeling. In October, even before we found out we were expecting a little one, Eugene and I searched around for 2 bedroom apartments since our 1 bedroom was so confined and we needed more room (especially with all my arts and crafts - I probably can use a whole room to myself). Two weeks later, we found out we were expecting child and somehow knew that there was a reason we were searching for a 2 bedroom all along. We were told by many of the apartment employees that it was way too soon to be looking for an apartment, especially if we weren't planning on moving until March and that they'd be in contact with us about openings when it comes sooner to our date. With that said, we stopped our search and waited... and waited (March couldn't come faster, I got way too excited to move into a 2 bedroom and not have to think about moving again for some time). 

Now here is some background, my family that I nanny has a townhouse that they rent out. The tenants lease ended in May of 2010 but they never renewed their lease and still lived there without more pressure to sign the lease. In October of 2010, the mother wanted to kick them out since they always had difficult times paying for the place and staying on top of rent (paying on time). In November of 2010, the family (mostly the mother) decided it was time to kick them out. The father didn't want to kick them out too close to the holidays and said that they would wait till the new year; new year = new start. 

The family talked to me a couple of times about letting my family stay in their townhouse. Although these were just early stages of talking, soon they became a bigger realty. Once the family would kick out their tenants, they would want new tenants to take over and since Eugene and I were looking anyways, everything just fit right into place. The only problem was that the tenants that lived in the townhouse had no clue that they would be kicked out and with their rap sheet of being "not so nice" people, the family was careful to lay out the news in a fair manner. But the only problem was that the family didn't say anything until February and Eugene and I had to move out by the end of March. Our one concern was that they wouldn't move out in time for the townhouse to be cleaned up, fixed, and ready for us to move in by the time our lease ended. Especially if the tenants put up a fight and said they needed a 60 day notice to vacant, etc. 

But, God is good and His plan always falls through. By end of February, a couple days into March, the tenants moved out without too much issue and the place is now vacant for move in. I can't tell you how stressed I was throughout this year because of this place. We were counting on living here and didn't really tell any other apartment complexes that we would need a place. If this place didn't fall through, we would have been homeless starting March 31st and would have to have probably put everything in storage and live with Eugene's parents. This was seriously a test of faith, holding enough faith to know that everything would fall through and that we wouldn't be homeless. 

Not only did the deal go through but we are blessed to be living in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom townhouse with an attached garage for a decent amount. None of the 2 bedroom places that we searched in the beginning of October had the rent of what this townhouse is costing us. Not only this, but having dogs really does limit the places you can live, plus there's usually pet rent that costs anywhere from $20-40 a month per dog. Having two dogs, that's almost an extra $100 per each month. My whole family will have a place to live for the next year or two before Eugene and I become homeowners. 

Every time I think about the situation we placed ourselves in and how much trust we had that everything would fall into place, I can't help but be grateful and amazed at how great God is. Without Him, I am certain that none of this would have been possible. 

I am so excited to move into our new townhouse, our apartment is pretty much packed and ready to move. The tenants just moved out and we're waiting for repairs, new carpet, and paint to be done before we can finally see our new home. Yes, that's right, if you read that correctly it says "finally see our new home", that's the whole kicker. Eugene and I have seen the outside of this place but haven't even gone inside to see how this place really looks. It's a pretty exciting way to live life if you ask me, I can't believe I'm moving into a home that I have never seen before. 

Back to counting our blessings, this year has been an amazing run for both Eugene and I and I can't believe it hasn't even been a year of marriage. We're finally settling in to a new home and extending our family, and I can't ask for anything more. I know that life doesn't give you only ups so I know that there will be downs but no matter how down life gets, all we need to know is that God will provide in every circumstance. All we need to have is a little FAITH. 

999...1000... and counting

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

to all my readers for getting my blog up to 1000 hits! My first post was on January 29th and by March 4th I received 1000 views on my blog, that's in just ONE MONTH! Friends, family, friends from thebump.com, friends from facebook, and whoever else rolls around to my blog, I can't thank you enough. I'm glad you take time out of your day to come and see how baby Chon and I are doing and this is exactly why I write in my blog as much as I do.

Much Love and Thanks,
Mommy Chon

you are now 22 weeks, graduating to a papaya

The Good: You kick all the time and actually dad was able to feel you a couple times as well. I'm feeling fabulous, don't even feel pregnant at all. Dad and I have been working on packing up the house and getting ready for our long awaited move. We got so much done and you didn't really hold me back, except I can't carry heavy boxes. 

The Bad: I can't think of anything bad other than getting uncomfortable (a feeling that just can't be washed away). This only happens a few times though. Also, the waddling, I feel like a fat cow when I catch myself waddling. 

The Weird: I can't share too in-detail what is weird but all I'll say is that it goes with my upper region. 

Best Pregnancy Brain Moment: I was talking to your dad when I was driving home one day and I just randomly thought, OMG I forgot the baby! I completely forgot that I was pregnant and you were in front of me the whole time. Definitely a pregnancy moment.

Currently Craving/Avoiding: I'm so lucky you aren't picky. I have no cravings and no foods I'm avoiding. I craved a little bit in the beginning of pregnancy but nothing too huge. Now I'm currently eating normally and not worrying about anything to avoid or anything I truly want. 

Looking Forward To: Tonight I'm meeting my youth group friends from high school. It's always nice to catch up and see where life has taken us. I'm also looking forward to March 16th for my doctors visit so that I can hear you and see how everything is going. 

and you will be named..

Sung Ha

About 2 months ago, I talked to your grandmother (daddy's mom) and asked her to think up Korean names for you. For me, my Korean name is my middle name and well dad doesn't have a middle name so it was pretty easy to decide that your middle name would be your Korean name like me. It's part of our culture to ask the mother and father of the husband to figure out the Korean name since there is a traditional pattern for Korean characters in your family tree. With that being said, I asked your grandmother and grandfather to think of both boy and girl names. The Chon family doesn't follow the traditional family tree characters, so your grandmother just came up with her own Korean name for you.

Ha -
1.Your grandmother wanted to use the character "Ha" in honor of your great grandfather, your grandmother's father. His name ended in "Ha" and he was a gentle, well loved man with great leadership, honor, and success. Because of his characteristics and well-known attributes, your grandmother wanted to use the "Ha" character.
2. "Ha" means summer. Summer is the best season out of the year because there is lots of fruit, vegetables, and grains that are grown only in the summer. Fields are plentiful and hunger is low. Summer represents fruitful life, a life that will never lack success, opportunity, and growth.
3. Summer is also the time of year that you will come into this world.

Sung -
1. Your grandmother chose "Sung" because it went well with the last character "Ha". "Sung" in Korean means dreams come true. Not only are you a dream come true for both your dad and myself, but you are a dream come true to both families for being the first born grandchild.
2. Dream come true also means that in your lifetime your dreams and aspirations will come true to you.

Your grandmother and grandfather said that Sung Ha would be used for either a boy or a girl.