Sweet Escape

This week our IT department moved into a brand new office a block away from our old building. The good news is that we uncivilized computer people can now wear jeans and flip flops everyday and no longer have to conform to the painful business casual dress code enforced on us while at the headquarters. Not only that, Trader Joe's is now around the corner on my route home. Most importantly, the women's restroom is much closer to my new desk and I can't tell you how favorable that is for my hourly peeing-pregnant-woman run. The very bad news (although great for everyone else) is that there is a Starbucks on the street corner I turn into to get to the new office. At the end of each day, I tell myself I will not under any circumstance stop by tomorrow for a yummy treat. But somehow at the beginning of each new day, I find me telling myself, "Well, if you're gonna have to fight this horrible nausea for eight hours while trying to conduct work and appear professional, the least you can do is treat yourself and Baby to a delectable goodie." I think I have pretty good self-control when it comes to many things. Breakfast sweets, however, have never been on that list. At this point, I am really hoping there is a study I am unaware of that proves lemon loaves and marble pound cakes to be excellent for a baby's brain development.

Matthew (Charles & Jean's son) & Eli:

One of the cutest things about Eli is how much he relishes his sleep even at such a young age. He'll be happily playing with his toys one moment, but at around 7:50pm when we ask him if he wants to go to bed ('night-night'), he'll carefully put down whatever he's playing with and enthusiastically nod his head yes over and over. He LOVES his crib and his sleep. I've never really met a one year old who does this. If we're upstairs when we ask him, he'll nod and just start waddling to his bedroom. It's so cute I can't stand it. I honestly thought you only finally appreciate sleep when you become a parent and can't have it anymore. Mr. Sheetmarks:

Something funny Kwang said to me the other day:
"People at the party told me Jude is handsome. And Eli looks like me." (pause) "What's that supposed to mean?" (We both start laughing)

Handsome? Yeah, not so much...

 

Old School Calvary

Our artists and musicians:

It would be nice if I could stop here and say we are a peaceful, get-along family. But right when I want to do that, Eli goes and whacks his brother on the head with a drumstick when he knows he shouldn't. I already sense he is going to be trouble and that we have some difficult times ahead. Although some books recommend otherwise, here is Eli getting a timeout at 15 months because he is neither representing nor keeping it real:

Seriously, what mother would think this is so sad but so adorable that she has to take a picture? Oh yes, that would be me.

Last week, Jean and I met up with Dallae who was in town on business. There's definitely something special about the people you grew up with. And I don't think it's only because we knew each other when we had nicknames like Slicklips, Longjohns, Onyxlocks, and Budding Appalachians. I'm laughing as I write this. But as sad as it sounds, it wouldn't be for just anyone that I would take the two boys downtown by myself after work and attempt to have a pleasant meal while nauseous. On the flipside, I think only true friends would welcome my traveling chaos at their dinner. Jean said she thinks she has a picture like the one below from about 15 years ago. Seeing how tired I look in this photo makes me think that other one may have been the better upload.

"Dumpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall..."

Yesterday afternoon at Manhattan Beach

(special thanks to Uncle Charles & Auntie Jean for the swim trunks)

The other day, Jude and I were playing the memory matching game. You know, the game where you lay cards out on the floor, faced down, and you take turns picking two that match. While playing, he suddenly burst into a Thomas the Tank Engine song and proudly told me he knew it all by himself. A few minutes later, he flipped over the "U" card with a picture of the umbrella bird:

Jude: (holding up the umbrella bird card) "You know this song, Uhmmah."
Me: "No, I don't think I know the song for that."
Jude: "Yes you do. Can you think about it?"
Me: (confused) "You mean for the umbrella bird?"
Jude: (nodding yes)
Me: (lightbulb) "Ohh.. you mean 'under my umbrella-ella-ella ay ay ay'... that song??" (fearing his response)
Jude: (nodding yes) "Uh-huh!"

Note to self: No more Jay-Z or Rihanna for the Kim family.

So I broke the news to my director that I'm expecting. AGAIN. In the two years I've been with this company, I've been prego twice. They must secretly wonder if my last name is actually Duggar. I bet all those out there in the corporate world reading this are thinking, "Boy am I glad I don't work with you!" Well, I don't blame you. When I'm not pregnant, I leave the office at three o'clock so I can make it home in time to search for important buried treasure with a make-believe telescope. When I am pregnant, I nearly fall asleep during conference calls. But at least I know why I'm so tired and hungry and nauseous these days. Before knowing I was pregnant, I was peacefully eating a dessert one evening when Kwang commented, "That's the fifth ice cream sandwich you've eaten today." I had no response because, let's be honest, it's not a terribly unusual scenario for me. But in my defense, it was only my THIRD.

 

Possible Meltdown Ahead

So #3 is on the way. I know this sounds obtuse, but I am stunned that this has happened. Aside from my irregularity and the healthy dose of work-related stress in my life, doesn't my age hold any benefits? Apparently not and my eggs haven't yet begun to shrivel up. I'm joking, of course, and know this is a blessing beyond measure. But I can't say the deliriously fatigued part of me isn't freaking out just a little bit. I think I'm only about 6-7 weeks right now, so it's still really early.

We took a trip this past weekend to Santa Barbara and the beautiful wine country to celebrate our anniversary, attend a wedding and, most importantly, get away for a bit. It's been a tough few weeks of Kwang working long days and nights and me feeling like a single working parent. So we packed up the fam and took a little road trip. It made for a really nice and enjoyable weekend. When I look at this picture of Eli below, all I see is roundness. Lots of it. Everywhere:

Appeasing the peanut gallery while mom enjoys a mocha frappucino:

Eli making the most of the wedding at Gainey Vineyard:

And Jude making the most of his hand-me-downs:

And finally, a picture I didn't even ask for and am still shocked I got. Pretty much sums up our weekend of family fun:

So why take the kids instead of indulge in a nice romantic getaway just the two of us? Judging from the surprise baby news we got on our anniversary, I think it's safe to say Kwang and I see enough of each other already.