More pool pictures

It's been so HOT here, we stay indoors most of the time.  We've enjoyed the pool when the weather is relatively moderate, and Troy finally got to splash and play with Lucia over the weekend.  She learned how to kick her legs while lying on her belly.  Someday she might even put her head under water!

The "after" furniture swap photos

So, after moving furniture around, one room is more spacious and one less so.  However, we've decided we like the coziness of the room with more furniture, especially since after baby comes we'll be spending a lot more time in there.  I've learned that it's hard to capture the feel of a room with a photo, which makes me wonder how real estate people manage to fit an entire room into one picture.

Surprise twins

Baking a dutch baby this morning...with a double-yolked egg!

Furniture swap

What else would a pregnant lady want when her baby is a week and six days from fully baked?  Moving furniture around, of course.  Accccctually, Troy deserves the credit for this brilliant idea. We brainstormed about how best to accommodate two girls, keep the computer upstairs, and allow room for all our guests to be comfortable too.  Troy came up with the idea of swapping furniture from one guest bedroom to the other room.  So far, we like the room rearrangements but the test will come when baby arrives.

Since my blogger brain didn't kick in until we were in the midst of the room swap, I don't have any "before" photos but here are a few during the mess of the furniture movement.  Nesting fever continues, even after bed rest!

Halmoni's helper

Krispy Kreme Queen

We really try not to feed our little girl sweets all the time, but it might not seem like it from this blog since we photograph every one of them!  Last weekend, her daddy brought home a Krispy Kreme donut with sprinkles on it.  Sheer happiness!

"Bite-a-meen please"

Lucia really likes her chewable vitamin.  In fact, we have a hard time convincing her that it's only supposed to be taken once a day.  When she found this empty calcium container, she promptly took it to her baby doll and fed the baby a vitamin.

Sleep, glorious sleep

Troy happened to walk into the bedroom and found little girl asleep in this position!

Nutella is the best!

Perfect summer afternoon of swimming

This toddler pool keeps us sane in the hot weather!  Our girl couldn't stop smiling the whole time she was there, she was so excited.  Plus, this very pregnant mom finds the water to be most relaxing.

Another humorous moment

I debated on the appropriateness of posting this photo, but we need to get it into our blog book, so here it is!  The joys of potty training....

"Mommy, watch Pororo on Mommy's phone"

Uh, probably not the best way to encourage dining, but at least she'll sit for more than 5 minutes in her chair. Plus, she does actually eat!  As we ate our Korean-Chinese noodles and washed it down with barley tea, this situation struck us funny.  The little girl was rather oblivious to the humor of it all.  The very Chinese-looking top-knot hairdo adds the perfect touch.

Siga La Vaca, Buenos Aires

Literally, follow the cow!  Our daughter has never been to this restaurant, but finding the t-shirt in a bin from her cousins reminded us of our trip to Argentina four years ago.  Hard to imagine it's been that long ago, as so much has happened since then.  Anyway, Siga La Vaca was one of the last places we ate in Buenos Aires  before returning to the States.  Now I wish I had some photos of the parrilla, but I can't locate any.  The all-you-can-eat-meat buffet was really just that.  Very nice salad bar also, but the excellent meat (and quite inexpensive) took center stage and we were stuffed beyond comprehension.  We walked back through the downtown area to our hotel, thankfully, and worked off some of the food.

First of the garden this year

Ok, so it really doesn't look like much, but if you have been following our blog for awhile, you know that this handful of cherry tomatoes is a bountiful crop compared to last year.  We (actually Troy and his dad) put in a raised bed last year, and the garden started out decently.  But, by the end of the season, we got ONE tomato with an estimated value of $150, and maybe one or two more tomatoes thereafter.  So, needless to say we are excited this year to have cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and serrano peppers.  (sorry, didn't photograph the other produce). Troy got the plants from someone at work which means no additional cost this year!

Local fishmonger

We are very fortunate to have a fish market in our town that provides freshly-caught fish.  They even fry the fish, if we want.  Lucia was fascinated by the displays.

"Hard work"

Lucia learned this new phrase from her cousin Lora who was playing with her one day.  Since then, she has pulled out the phrase at funny (but appropriate) times.  She made this card for Grandma recently with earnest gusto and said "hard work."

36 week pregnancy update

Baby has grown immensely!  The growth ultrasound last week showed that baby gained two pounds in a month, which now puts her in the 24th percentile and away from the danger zone.  Her due date is back to the original of August 3.  I was warned to be cautious but no longer have to be confined to bed.  Yes! All that lying around and doing nothing but eating and sleeping really must have helped.  I am finding that bed rest really put me out of shape, and so have been slowly, I mean slowly, adding more activity to my day.

Happy Birthday, Halmoni!

Last week, we had the changing of the guards (ha ha!) around here.  Grandma and Lora returned home after we spent some very special days together.  We really appreciated all of Grandma's cooking and hard work.  Halmoni and Halabuhgee arrived a couple days before that, escaping the heat of the north by coming south -- gotta love that!!  Last week also marked Halmoni's birthday so we enjoyed a nice Korean meal together and ice cream cake afterward.  Lucia loves singing Happy Birthday to youuuuuu in English and Korean!

Miss Independence

The past couple years we were gifted with an appropriate outfit for Independence Day.  Comparing photos from last year and this year really shows us how much growth, development (and independence??!!) has occurred with our little girl.

2011

2012

Look, Mommy!

"Daddy, climb"

One of Lucia's new favorite activities is climbing up her daddy, starting from his legs all the way up until she perches on his shoulders.  I really should video it, but here's the end result.  She must wait all day for him to come home so she can say "Daddy, climb."

Special treat from Grandma

One morning last week, Grandma and Lucia took Troy to the downtown train station where he occasionally hops on the bus to work/school.  Lucia toured the recently renovated station, and then afteward went with Grandma to the awesome, local bakery a block away.  She chose this cupcake with the "gee-raf" on it as her special treat.

Art class with Grandma

Thankfully, Grandma helped us for a couple of weeks.  Lucia enjoyed all her yummy cooking, and this particular morning, tore through a variety of creative activities with her.

The girl who loves the rocking chair

Feast for the eyes

These flowers brightened my day... grown, arranged and gifted by my friend.

Someday she'll have ZERO pacifiers

but one morning last week, Grandma caught her with two in her mouth!