This was me on Thursday, December 15.  Just another day in the life of a very pregnant woman…

On the following day, December 16, 2011 at 5:33 pm, we welcomed our precious baby boy, Oben.  Weighing in at 2.8 kg and 50 cm long, Oben was 3 weeks early!

Oben was scheduled to be born on January 5, 2012.  Because my tummy just kept getting bigger and bigger, and my doctors all told me that the baby was already bigger than the average, we all assumed that Oben would make his appearance sooner rather than later.  However, we thought he would be born maybe a week early, perhaps after Christmas or around new years.  Much to our surprise, Oben made his appearance a full 3 weeks early, lodging him in the preterm or “premie” category.

At 7 am on December 16, I woke up because I had to pee again (the bane of every pregnant woman!), but then I realized there was water everywhere!  I guessed that my water had broke, but I wasn’t sure so I googled it.  I never expected to go into labor that early so it was quite unexpected when my water broke.

After confirming that I was in labor, I woke up M and we called the hospital together.  The midwife on duty urged us to come into the hospital.  Luckily, we had our hospital bag packed earlier that week, so we threw on some clothes, fed the kitties and headed to the hospital.

My contractions were approximately three minutes apart for hours and hours.  Actually, the time went by pretty quickly.  We had a luxurious birthing suite, complete with a jacuzzi bath tub, flat screen tv and DVD player.  I had a midwife assigned to help me throughout the entire labor process, which was really nice, and she noted that my labor was moving quite quickly.  After being able to handle the contractions on my own for about four hours, I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and got the epidural.  I think M was more scared of the epidural than I was, but once it kicked in, I was really relaxed and happy.  All the nurses, doctors and our midwife kept mentioning that M and I were too happy and we looked completely unfazed by the process.

After two hours on the epidural, I was feeling the contractions much stronger and I was in A LOT of pain.  As the midwife checked to see how far dilated I was and to administer another dose of the epidural, she realized that the baby’s heart beat was too low and she couldn’t safely administer the epidural without causing more distress on the baby.  At that point, I was in active labor (fully dilated at 10 cm) and I had to start pushing without any pain medication!!

The labor process at that point is a big blur to me.  I just remember an unbelievable amount of pain, the thought that I was not going to make it, and desperately wanting someone to just pull the baby out.  I remember thinking that I should’ve gotten a c-section.  The pain was THAT bad.  It was only made worse by the fact that the baby was facing upwards when he should’ve been facing down, so during one contraction, my doctor stuck his hand in and flipped the baby.  Owie.  Thankfully, labor lasted 30 minutes, which I hear is pretty fast for first time mothers (the average is 2 hours!  Eek!), and we finally met our squishy little boy.

Unlike hospitals in the US where policies are oftentimes dictated by HMOs, here, the average length of stay post-delivery is three days.  Oben and I were moved into a private room for the remainder of our stay, and poor M camped out on the couch at night, while working days at the office.

While we expected to be released on the 3rd day following the delivery, poor Oben was diagnosed with jaundice so we stayed an additional 2 days in order for Oben to receive some photo-light therapy.  It was really grueling for the little guy, as he was stripped down to his diapers, placed on essentially a light table, and had an eye mask to protect his eyes for 24 hours.  Oben was allowed feeding breaks every two hours, but it was really hard to watch our little guy go through such torture.

Pet Shop Boys moment: M wearing protective glasses while comforting Oben on the light table.

After 24 hours of light therapy and countless blood tests to measure the level of bilirubin in his system, his pediatrician determined that Oben’s jaundice had been reduced enough to warrant discharge from the hospital.  Whew!  We were so excited to go home!!

Since we’ve been home, we’ve had a ton of help from M’s mom, my mom, and our cleaning lady.  It’s been really nice to be able to just focus on the little guy…we’ll see what happens when my mom leaves next week!!

M got his new iPhone 4S on the same day as Oben's birth. I couldn't tell what he was more excited about...

Oben's ET face

Blissed out after guzzling some milk!

Oben shaking his gloved fist at me...with Bob sharing my lap!

Week 1 - Oben and Larry the Giraffe

Saturday, October 1

Our first pit stop was Seoul.  M and I stayed with my 3rd uncle and his wife in Itaewon.  We arrived into Seoul early evening on Sunday, and ate dinner with my aunt and uncle.  After settling in, M and I wandered around the neighborhood, looking for something yummy to eat.

We started the evening at Jesters, a shop that sold pies, both sweet and savory.  I’ve never heard of Jesters before but I guess it’s from the US.  The guys working inside spoke perfect English with no accent.

Blueberry pie from Jesters. It was nice and hot, but just okay. I've had better pies.

Next stop, Caffe Bene.  First of all, they are EVERYWHERE in Seoul.  It’s kind of like Starbucks, where there’s one on every street corner.  In Seoul, every block has a Caffe Bene, a Starbucks, and a Paris Baguette.  However, they sell little Belgian waffles, which were super popular last year and still has a strong following this year (Korea is very trend- conscious).  I’ve been totally craving waffles and could’ve eaten three more by myself (sorry, M), but I restrained myself and shared the one we ordered with M.

Waffle with strawberry gelato. Very yummy!

Strawberry shaved ice with red bean and (more) strawberry gelato on top.

After our sweet snack and a little break, we decided it was time to eat something more substantial.  By this time, most of the street vendors had set up shop so we were in business!

Street vendor selling skewers, corn dogs, various tempura, wantons, potato wedges, and my favorite, ddukbukki (rice cake in spicy pepper sauce)!

After some traditional Korean street food, Malcolm wanted to try the ethnic street vendors also very popular in the area.  While walking around, we came across a vendor selling Moroccan sandwiches.  I didn’t know Moroccans ate sandwiches, but the line was long and very popular.  So of course, we joined in on the wait.

Took a blurry picture together while waiting for the sandwiches.

Ready at last!

M ordered the beef sandwich, which was ground beef, onions, potatoes, eggs, secret seasonings, white sauce, and cheddar cheese (from Costco!).

I ordered the veggie, which was onions (both raw and sautéed), potatoes, eggs, secret seasonings, white sauce and cheddar cheese. Yum!

Upon finishing most of the sandwiches, it was almost midnight and we were both stuffed and tired.  We headed back to my uncle’s place and called it a night.

Sunday, October 2

Sunday was our only full day in Seoul, so M and I started off the day filled with plans for eating more yummy foods.  Clearly, eating too much was (and is) not a concern for us.  After a morning that is not worth mentioning, M and I headed off to the Apgujeongdong area of Seoul.  In preparation for our Seoul trip, I searched the interwebs for some good eats recommendations.  On one of my favorite blogs, I read about a bakery called Le Alaska.  After checking out their website, I definitely knew this had to be our first stop.

It was fortuitous that we ended up taking a cab there, because there was no way we could’ve found this place on our own.  Situated in a tiny alleyway, Le Alaska was surrounded by other cute cafes and shops.

When you first walk in, you are greeted by shelves upon shelves of pastries, and the warm smell of pastries freshly baking in the ovens.

M's latte. It was really good coffee! I had just a little sip, which re-whetted my desire for coffee. *sniff sniff* Oh coffee, how I miss you!

My berry smoothie came with shaved ice, topped with a sugared raspberry. It was tart and refreshing, but not as good as M's latte!

M devouring a pastry

Not only were the pastries delicious, the decor of the bakery was super cute and quaint.

Such a cute cafe, with outdoor seating

After enjoying our pastries and drinks, we wandered around the area and came upon this super cool barbecue restaurant.  Fashioned out of two cargo crates, the restaurant was eye catching and we could smell delicious smells wafting out.  Sadly, we were too stuffed from breakfast AND pastries, so we took a few pictures and walked out.

Another popular area is Garosugil in the Sinsadong neighborhood of Seoul, which is a tree-lined street with shops and cafes.  It’s similar to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  Known as a foreigner area, many of the shops are foreign brands and restaurants serve various ethnic foods.

M in front of the Marrimekko store with his new work bag.

While wandering around, this woman walked by with 6 little dogs following her.  While none of them were leashed, they faithfully followed their mama.  The whole sight was pretty cute.

I tried on some jewelry at a street vendor's shop. Everything was so pretty!

It was so ironic to come across a Forever 21 in Korea.  I mean, it’s a Korean-owned company based in the States.  It’s like the company returned back to the motherland.

A 3-story Forever 21!

After walking and shopping for couple hours, our poor feet were tired, so we decided to take a break at a cafe called Cafe des Artes.  Situated on a second floor building, we sat on the balcony and had a great few of the street below us.

My husband, Mr. Smooth

One of the best things about Seoul is the free wifi everywhere!  So while we were resting our tired feet at the cafe, we checked email, people watched, and enjoyed the cool fall weather.  While looking around, I noticed a restaurant (also 2nd floor) across the street.  Check out the kid at the table!  Hee hee…

Poor little boy fell asleep at the table! Too cute!

One of my favorite places in Seoul is Cheonggyecheon.  Originally a dirty stream that ran through downtown Seoul, the entire area was renovated during the mid-2000′s in an effort to beautify the city.  The end result is a gorgeous babbling brook with waterfalls, lighted pathways and indigenous plants lining the pathways.  As we were there on a holiday weekend, Cheonggyecheon was packed with families and tourists alike.  I swear, I heard Chinese being spoken more often (or is it just more loud?) than Korean while we walked the path.

Babbling brook in the middle of downtown Seoul

On our way to Cheonggyecheon, we made a pitstop at Dunkin Donuts and picked up a bat-shaped donut to enjoy.

A bat! Just in time for Halloween.

While walking by one of the bridges, there was a guy doing acrobatics above.

We threw a few coins into the stream after we read a sign that said that all money is donated every few months to orphans.

After talking to my dad, I learned that October 3 is a national holiday in Korea celebrating the unification of the country under one king (I don’t remember which king).  That Sunday, as M and I walked around the area near Cheonggyecheon, there were parades and actors dressed up in traditional clothing to celebrate the holiday.

A miniature replica of a turtle ship, the world's first iron-clad ship built during the 15th Century.

Me in front of a statue of King Sejong, who created written Korean.

M's new buddy

We came across this scooter that had a little guy in it!

This was the sign in front of the doggie in the scooter. It says, "Don't touch! He will 'RARR' bite you!" Hehe.

That evening, we met up with my eldest aunt and uncle, and my cousin J, for a buffet dinner at Hyatt Hotel.  After stuffing ourselves silly, J, M and I decided to hit up the night markets for our last night in Seoul.  Of course, because of the holiday, most of the night markets were closed, but we managed to go shopping for clothes at Doota, an open all-night mall.

First up, the night market.

Mung bean pancakes! My favorite!

M pouring some Sprite into J's traditional rice wine. Apparently, it's how all the young kids drink the rice wine these days.

Doota shopping mall. It's really big.

The following morning, M and I headed to the airport for our flight to Bali.  Next post – BALI!!  (Hopefully, it won’t take as long as this Seoul post!).

We decided to spend our first night in Taipei and indulge in some food goodness.  We arrived at the brand new W Hotel Taipei, where we were greeted in our room by a plate of pretty and pretty yummy macarons.  They hit the spot!

Our room was really nice!  Just as in the States, the hotel provided us with Bliss products and a tastefully modern room.

After settling in, we met up with M’s dad and M’s godmother for dinner at the hotel’s buffet.  It was pretty tasty.

The following morning, we went to Taipei 101 for some brunch.  We tried some burgers at Mos Burger (I guess a popular burger in Taiwan) with some dou hua, a soft tofu dessert with boba and jelly and peanuts and other yummy goodies.  We tried the fish sandwich and a seafood rice burger at Mos Burger, and both were really good!  I thought that the fish sandwich was better than the filet-o-fish at McDonald’s, although it might be because it was definitely super fresh.

Seafood rice burger. The buns were made out of rice cakes. Pretty yummy!

That afternoon, M and I made our way to the high speed railway station to catch a train down to Taichung, M’s family’s hometown.  Just an hour by high speed rail, we arrived at the station early and grabbed some lunch while we waited for our train.  While waiting, I took a picture with my new (Mexican gingerbread man) friend.

On all the subway stations and railway stations in Taiwan, these signs are posted everywhere.  I guess the stick figure with a soccer ball for a tummy would be me??

Our 2 night stay in Taichung involved mostly eating.  Granted, we ran a few errands, went shopping, but mostly, it was just eating.  M’s grandmother, while 91 years old and frail, out-ate all of us.  So we ate a lot, and after eating some more, M and I went to the night market at night.

One of the things I love about Taiwan is that they sell these HUGE drinks.  I heard that Half and Half in CA also carries these huge 1000 cc drinks, but I have yet to see them.  But in Taiwan, they are quite prevalent.  So imagine my surprise when we went to lunch with M’s grandma and his dad, and the restaurant had GINO drinks!!!

M's dad ordered the medium boba.

Big drink!

We found a stand that sold little Hello Kitty buns filled with red bean and other goodies. Unfortunately, Hello Kitty was just a gimmick and they actually sold egg shaped buns instead. Boo!

Eggs, not Hello Kitty. These weren't very good.

Fresh fruit with plum powder. We ate a ton of guava. So yummy!

The following morning, we ate breakfast on the street with the locals.  We ate some sweet rice sausages, lou bo gao (turnip cakes), and two kinds of soups.  Some of the food was good, some not so good, and I have never sat so close to the street before in my life.

After wandering around, taking a nap, and eating some more, we headed back to the night market on our last night in Taichung.

Bear donuts to tide us over in-between meals. They were cute, but not that tasty. Note to self: Do NOT eat bears!

Waffles with "nutella" and bananas

Not too bad, although the waffle itself could've been tastier.

Chewy, crunchy pancake things.

It was pretty tasty. We ordered it stuffed with a fried egg, basil and some chicken. (I picked out the chicken).

M really wanted the Chinese sausage "hot dog." Rather than a normal hot dog bun, the sausage was wrapped in-between a sweet rice sausage split in half. M really enjoyed it.

Something that I noticed this time was the prevalence of Korean influences.  It definitely wasn’t present last year, so it was amusing to see this time around.

A vendor selling duo bokki (Korean rice cakes in spicy red sauce)

All in all, it was a quick but good trip.  We saw Grandma, hung out with M’s dad, and did the things we needed to do.  Next up: Korea and Bali in less than 6 days!!

Good bye, big drink!

The limit of my high school French: Saturday

The decor in this tiny restaurant is totally cute.  There’s only like 3 tables indoors, and some more outdoor seating.  Everything is rustic and very French.

Someone was hungry.

M's French beer. He really liked it.

Very rarely seen in China: recycled goods!

Our eggplant parmesan appetizer. Not what we expected (it wasn't breaded or hot; it was a cold dish!) but pretty delish.

Hungry guy dug into the veggie pizza so fast that I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the whole pie! But the crust was thin, crusty and chewy and toppings fresh and flavorful. Yumm!

For dessert, we ordered the Nutella calzone.  ’Nuff said.

Nutella with chunks of walnuts and almonds. The perfect balance of sweet and crunchy.

All gone!

A lot of Western restaurants are hit or miss.  It might be a sourcing issue or just that there are a bunch of Chinese cooks cooking dishes they’ve never tasted themselves before.  Thus, Western food in China is mostly mediocre at best.  However, A Cote was simple, well-flavored, and delicious.  I would definitely recommend it to friends!

I’ve started working (finally!) at the job I’ve had since April but haven’t worked at before.  Confused?  Haha.  So I got hired at an American SAT/English school as a part time teacher, but at the time they hired me, all the jobs they had for me were scheduled for July, the exact time I would be in the US.  So, they were kind enough to keep me on their list of contract teachers, and I’ve just waited for teaching gigs to become available.

So finally, I started teaching two weeks ago.  I have private tutoring sessions with a 5th grader who has ADHD (any tips for teaching children with ADHD??), and I teach a vocabulary class to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders who are aiming to take their PSATs in the 7th grade.  I wish I had a class like that when I was in school.  I would’ve done so much better on my SATs!!!

Another aspect of so much down time is that I’ve been trying to cook more Korean foods.  And yes, that actually has meant that I’ve cooked meat!  GASP!!  Dude, M better know how much I love him because touching meat is really gooey and icky.  The texture is really weird!  So I’ve made Korean stewed beef, or galbi jjim, and my variation of the Kogi Taco fame, bulgogi tacos.  M really loves bulgogi tacos for breakfast, so it’s part of the weekly breakfast rotation now.

I’ve started to meet up regularly with several friends (I have friends!!!) and go to prenatal yoga once a week in the French Concession.  M and I together have met up with other marrieds for weekend brunches and dinners, so we’re starting to get a nice routine going.

This past weekend was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so M got Monday off from work.  I think every Monday should be a holiday as it gives me an extra day with M to recover from our oddly non-stop weekends.  While we didn’t really do anything for the festival, M and I went to the Hongqiao Bird and Flower Market and finally got some plants for our apartment, had a yummy albeit pricey Malaysian dinner at Cafe Sambal with new and old friends, and ended the holiday weekend at a BBQ in a $2 million apartment (not ours, clearly!).  Not to mention, we also tried a really delicious veggie burger from Kush, a new vegetarian restaurant.  The veggie burger was really really good!  Even the meat eaters loved it!

Orchids at the flower market

Fake terracotta soldier statue with detached head. Comes with kitty.

Could they be Lamb's biological parents?!

Current trend in SHA: bears on your sneakers! Anyone want a pair?

We’ll be starting our fall season of traveling soon.  First up, I have my 6th month prenatal checkup where I think I need to get a letter from my doctor authorizing me to fly as my belly is steadily growing from honeydew size to watermelon size.  After that, M and I will be heading to Taiwan to visit his grandmother.  For the October 1 holidays (national commie week here in China), M and I are finally going on our honeymoon, with a pitstop in Seoul and then off to Bali for 4 glorious days of napping, swimming and eating cookies.  At the end of October, I’ll be trekking back to the States for a doctor’s visit in LA and then some quality time with my parents in Seattle.  Lots of traveling but well worth it since our little Shu rascal will be making his appearance in the not-too-distant future!

And finally, due to many demands from friends, here are a few of my 23 week belly shots!

I got into LA on Monday, July 25, and spent the next 3 days taking that horribly long and awful test that I swear each time (!) that I’ll never do again.  Freedom started on Friday, July 26, with lots of meals and quality time spent with lovely people and delicious food.

I blogged about Seattle in the last post, but here are some leftover pics from my 10 days in Seattle.  I can definitely see myself living there in the future.  The summers are perfect there.  =)

Study break in the park next to Burien Public Library

Farmer's Market

One of the many Mexican meals I enjoyed in Seattle. Yum!!

Dinner at Poppy with my cousin. Indian fusion food. Local, gorgeous and delicious!

Funny quote on the wall at Pottery Barn Kids.

Thursday, July 28

I met up with friends I hadn’t seen in FORVER for dinner to celebrate the end of the bar (yet again).  While I was really tired and was really just worn out, I had a great time enjoying yummy food at El Portal in Pasadena with excellent company.

Friday, July 29

I spent Friday night at my dear friend M’s brand new house in Whittier.  Such a cute little house!!  M has been very busy upgrading her house and she’s done such a great job!  Not only that, M was such a gracious host and insisted that I sleep in her bed while she slept on her futon.  The following morning, we went to breakfast at Scotty’s, a local diner near her place.  It was so cozy and yummy!!  Thanks, M!

M's adorable house!! Congrats on your house, M!

First thing you notice when you walk into Scotty's is the decoration. In celebration of July 4th, the restaurant had a billion stars hanging from the ceiling. It was cute and kitschy without being overdone or tacky. According to M, Scotty's switches up the decorations for all the holidays.

M ordered the pancake breakfast.

I ordered the waffles with a side of hash browns. It was delicious! The waffles were light and airy, and perfect with the butter and syrup. The hash browns were crispy on the outside and soft and potato-y on the inside. It was so delish!!

Saturday, July 30

After the yummy breakfast with M, I went to my old church in Placentia.  I really missed everyone, and it was great to spend some quality time with them.

Following lunch, couple friends from church and I went to Yogurtland to enjoy some Hello Kitty flavors.  Pastor S didn’t believe us that Yogurtland had partnered up with Sanrio, so I took a picture of our yogurt and texted it to him.

Hello Kitty at Yogurtland! (I told you so, Pastor!!)

After the Yogurtland break, I drove down to South Coast Plaza to meet up with M’s friends, J and C.  J had visited us in SHA in early April and had a suit made.  Because J wasn’t in town long enough to wait for the suit, I brought the suit back for him.  While waiting for J and C to arrive at South Coast, I wandered around and notice the Windows store (?!?!).  I guess they’re trying to compete with Apple, but it was nowhere as impressive as Mac.  Brownie points for trying??

Dinner was at Red Medicine in Beverly Hills with J & R, H & his new gf J!, A, and W.  A Vietnamese fusion restaurant, I read a review on Oh Joy! blog and wanted to try it out.  The food was fresh, good, and an interesting twist on traditional foods that we’re used to from Vietnamese places.  Even better was spending quality time with friends.

R & J, me and W

A fuzzy group shot taken by our waiter.

On the way to C’s house after dinner to crash there, W and I drove by LACMA and realized that the installation that I’ve been wanting to see is open even at night!  So I flipped a u-turn and parked the car for a little picture taking.

The Mini getting in on the action.

Sunday, July 31

Baby shower time!!  My friends were so sweet to throw me a baby shower at Firefly in South Pasadena.  We enjoyed a yummy brunch, fun baby shower games, and M and I got some pretty awesome gifts for our little boy.  Thanks, everyone!!

The men of the baby shower

Our adorable little A!! He has the best skin! And the cutest little sad face when you give away cookies.

Me, N and her adorable boys! They were our ring bearers in our wedding. I can't believe how much they've grown!!

Thanks everyone for coming out and for all the wonderful gifts for our little one!!

We had a few hours to kill before dinner with my family, so J offered to take W and me to Half and Half, the latest thing in the boba movement.

(This is like an ad for Half and Half.  Haha) I ordered the milk tea with honey boba and pudding, but I think they also added caramel, because J ordered caramel in hers and ours tasted unusually similar.  Truly, it was the largest boba I’ve ever had.  It’s like a meal (or two) in itself.  And the cups we ordered aren’t even their really large size!

We finished the night off by joining my family for dinner in Koreatown at Bann.  Traditional Korean food restaurant, Bann was pretty good.

Cousin J, big brother J, and sister-in-law C

Cousin D, me, W and J

After dinner, my brother and I compared belly sizes.

Monday, August 1

After a hectic morning running tons of errands, I finally got to watch “Harry Potter.”  It was so exciting!!  This was the ONE movie I really wanted to watch in a theater, and I made H promise months ago that he would watch it with me.  Hehe…H wasn’t quite so excited, but I really enjoyed it.  The movie was nowhere as good as the book, but they did a pretty good job.

We watched the movie in 3D. Look at H's excitement. He's practically jumping out of his seat!

Tuesday, August 2

Another day filled with last minute errands.  Although this time, I went to UCLA Medical Center to get a physical and get the baby checked out.  And guess what we found out??

We’re having a BOY!!

Since I was in Westwood, I decided to take advantage of the super expensive parking I had already paid for at UCLA and wandered around, making sure to take advantage of that magical place called Diddy Riese.  I picked up a dozen cookies to bring home to M.

11 AM and there was a long line!

That night, I enjoyed a last minute dinner with friends at Doughboys, and met J’s really cool cousin from Michigan.  They came over to T’s house and hung out for a bit before heading home.

As always, it was so nice to see everyone while I was in LA.  I hope to see all of you soon!!

Here are a few pics from this past week:

My mom cuts up fruit for me every morning before she leaves for work. She says that I must eat pretty foods for the baby. Or the baby will be unhappy. Haha...

More pretty food: My mom's soybean noodles with pretty heirloom tomatoes and avocado slices. Yum!

My daily cup of chai tea latte from Burien Press. By far the BEST chai tea latte I've had anywhere!

A Ferrari edition Segway at the library.

Nothing really planned for the rest of the week before heading down to LA.  I’ll be grabbing dinner with my cousins, and hopefully, see and eat some great things to round out my week in Seattle!

There’s definitely been a breakdown in the posts.  Sorry!  I could blame it on being pregnant, or studying hard (rather, hardly studying), or faulty internet in this darn place, but I really have no excuse!  We’ve had a steady stream of visitors, been busy studying and reading up on becoming parents (eek!), and trying to stay cool in this blistering heat.

It’s been so hot, we have kitty puddles throughout the apartment.

We also had my dear friend W stay with us for a couple weeks.  She brought us cereal, which made my love for her grow infinitely large and reaffirmed my love of Trader Joe’s.  (Yes, to win my affections, cereal from Trader Joe’s or a 2-item combo from Panda Express will do).

My super genius cousin W is also in town, learning Chinese, his 3rd language (unless it’s his 4th…), at Fudan University here in Shanghai.  I haven’t seen much of him growing up, since he’s from MO.  It was great to introduce him to M, see that he was well fed, and ate some shaved ice with him last week.

This past Thursday night, M had some business people in town from the Philippines, so we took them out to dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Bund.  Because we had some time to kill before dinner reservations, we walked around a very crowded Bund, enjoying the nighttime lights and scenery.

I’ll be heading out to the States this Thursday.  As always, I’m sad to leave the hubs and the kitties, but so excited to see my parents and my friends.  Since getting pregnant, I’ve been more homesick for the familiar.  I miss the ease of living where I know things, where I can speak the language, and where there is a great many food options.  I can’t wait!!

I probably won’t post while I’m traveling, but most likely, I’ll see you in person soon!!!

Introducing … Turtle Shu!!  Scheduled to make his/her appearance in early January 2012, we wanted to share the good news with all of you lovely aunties and uncles!!

In the meantime, this past weekend, M and I tried a new restaurant Dakota, wandered around the city looking for great American goodies, and celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival with a dinner of tradition zhong zi prepared by my MIL.

Enjoy!