Our Get Away Trip

Yesterday my husband & I traveled to Portland for our 1st romantic get away I don't know in how long. When Gerritt was born in 2007, we were pretty much tied to the house (just think of the packing nightmare - formula, bottles, clean filtered water, diapers, wipes, car seat, clothes, baby food, toys, etc). Then Sophia came along when Gerritt was just 19 months old & were were stationed home again. It has been more than 3.5 years since my husband & I had an out-of-town get away without the kids.
At my last prenatal visit, I had a long conversation with my wonderful midwife about the quality of life, taking the time to recharge & investing in my marriage. She noticed how run down & tired I was so her suggestions included regular date nights & getaways with my husband, cutting back on my work schedule (especially, stressful hospital shifts) & even quitting the hospital all together, & getting Gerritt out of my bed & sharing it with my husband instead. Interestingly enough, she sensed my strong need for independence & really encouraged me to depend more on him emotionally & financially. She emphasized that growing human beings is an important & time-consuming job & there's nothing wrong with relying on my husband more. She was so right about that. I always prided myself in having my own money (my hourly wage is actually higher than my husband's) & not having to ask for anything. But... working 4-5 days a week with 3 kids under the age of 5 will definitely be too much for me, especially with my all-giving, attachment style of mothering.
So a few weeks ago my husband & I planned our 3-day trip. First, it was going to be Victoria, Canada (it was our last romantic trip in April of 2005, right before our wedding), but then we've decided on Portland, Oregon instead. We just couldn't see ourselves spending almost a day on travel, plus the dollar doesn't buy you as much as it used to in Canada. We were able to book our 4-star hotel Monaco in downtown Portland using priceline.com for only $80/night. We had to pay $20 in hotel fees & $33/night for parking, but it was still a great deal.
First, we dropped off the kids at Korean grandma's house on Friday morning. I've been talking about Mommy & Daddy's trip to Gerritt for a few days prior to our departure. Still, he became very needy on Friday morning, pulling all the stops. He constantly asked, "Are you leaving now, Mommy?" He also kept saying he wanted to come with us. I had a hard time getting dressed because he would hug my legs & say, "I love you, Mommy!" He also announced, "I don't think you should go on your trip today, Mommy. You should go tomorrow instead." Sophia fell asleep in the car on the way to grandma's house, so after transferring her to bed, we didn't have to say goodbye. Gerritt, however, started crying right after we kissed him goodbye. He was in the middle of watching his monster truck show & we hoped we would be spared the tears. Instead of prolonging the agony & returning to comfort him, we just said we'd be back soon & headed out.
As we drove off in our car, an overwhelming feeling of relief & freedom set in. We even did a high five to each other. My husband actually had a harder time leaving than I did, "Don't you feel guilty?," "Maybe we should take him with us?" Although I've contemplated it multiple times, my answer was a firm "no." Not only would we have to pack a completely different set of things for Gerritt, but the whole trip would be about him & his schedule: "Mommy, I need to go potty," "Mommy, I am hungry," "Mommy, I am tired," etc.



Our lovely Hotel Monaco

We spent both of our mornings in Portland sleeping in & I even took a long nap in each of the afternoons. We were able to stay in the hypoallergenic room which means no smoking, non-down pillows & comforters, only "green" cleaning products, HEPA room air filters & glutein-free snacks. So, thankfully, we didn't have to put up with strange hotel smells, runny noses & watery, puffy eyes in the mornings.
We did much downtown exploring & some shopping at the Pionner Square. We also enjoyed fine dining at the Portland Prime restaurant & the Southpark Seafood Grill & Wine Bar. Mother's Bistro & Bar had the most delicious breakfast food. This restaurant even has its own cookbook, which I ordered on amazon.com. We had fun at the Portland Saturday Market where I bought a pair of beautiful handmade earrings. On the evening prior to our departure we watched the movie Thor.
We tried to restrain ourselves & call to check on the kids only once a day in the evenings. Gerritt was a good boy (except he refused to eat most of grandma's cooking), but Sophia was more work. She woke up at 3 am, undressed herself, then peed all over her bed (she does that sometimes, especially if she is wearing a one-piece zip up pajamas).
All good things must come to an end. Our get away trip was good, but I would have probably been ok with just one night at a hotel. It was hard to watch other people's kids & not miss my own, especially on the 2nd day of our vacation. The rich restaurant food got really old & made me even more nauseated. Simply walking by the famous street food carts & getting a whiff of food would bring on a wave of nausea. I started to miss my oatmeal with raisins & rice milk, strawberry kefir, yogurt, sauteed greens, grilled turkey patties & other simple foods I eat regularly at home. We had plans to visit the Washington Park, Portland's Classical Chinese Garden, Pittock Mansion & Multnomah Falls, but I had so little energy. I usually prefer more physically active vacations, but my body craved rest & sleep. I am glad I honored that. Now just a trip to buy a couple of toy gifts for Gerritt & Sophia & we are heading back home!

13 Weeks

My ultrasound at 9 weeks 6 days (the embryo is about 2.8 cm long). What a relief - only one baby!

I wasn't going to do any ultrasounds at all in this pregnancy, however, I changed my mind. This time around, I had to experience something that so many pregnant women complain about - morning sickness. It wasn't just there in the mornings, but in the mid-day & evenings, & even woke me up during the night. In fact, I am still having nausea daily at 13 weeks along. I've heard that every pregnancy can be different, & the fact that I didn't have nausea in my previous pregnancies wouldn't necessarily mean that I would be spared this time. However, the thought of twins kept crossing my mind over & over. With an ultrasound machine so readily available at my work it was too tempting not to do a basic ultrasound. It showed that I had only 1 baby inside my uterus (whew!), there was a heartbeat, & a little one already had arms & legs! It was great to know I am not just sick (even though I feel that way most of the time), but I am growing a human being. Hopefully, I'll feel better in another week or so.


Oysters - a new craving this week

We've been thinking of baby names lately. It is so hard not knowing whether we are having a little girl or a boy! I wasn't going to find out the sex before my home birth (to give myself another reason to push the baby out naturally :-)), but I may have to change my mind on that too. Here are some of the names that crossed our minds in no particular order:

For a girl - Camilla, Kelly, Rose, Victoria, Alexandra, Giovanna, June, Alice, Dominique, Esme, Nina, Mila, Maria, Katya, Michelle, Kate, January, Emma

For a boy - Thomas, Alexander, Adrian, Stefan, Christian, Nicholas, Dimitri, David, William, Brock, Brice, Ryan, Cameron, Hudson, Ren, Jacob, Jason

As you can see, it's much easier to come up with a girl's name. We definitely want to avoid the top 10 name category & trendy/celebrity one too. Nothing sounds quite right yet, so we are still pondering what name would fit this child. I even listened to the Baby Names podcast from mothering.com to help me come up with baby name ideas. If we were to follow old baby naming traditions from Scotland, for example, we would name our 2nd son after my father (Yuryi) & our 2nd daughter after my husband's mother (Young). I am not too excited about those two...


Still craving pickled vegetables

I had to post this photo because the cruelest thing happened. I was so happy to find a large jar of pickled mushrooms at the Russian grocery store, but, unfortunately, I was unable to open it! My husband & I both tried to take off the darn lid using towels, rubber gloves, a jar opener & hot/cold water - all without success. My craving for something sour was so strong, I pickled my own cucumbers the same night (which is something I've NEVER done before). The pickles turned out to be a success & I had yummy crunchy cucumbers at almost every meal during the next week. :-) P. S. We were able to open the mushroom jar eventually by drilling a hole through the lid.


Despite my seeming inability to open jars, I've become a sound sleeper, almost like this jaguar from our recent trip to the zoo. :-) I can barely keep my eyes open while reading 3-4 bedtime stories to Gerritt. Once the lights are turned off, I am out in less than 5 minutes.
More updates to come!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sophia!

This Saturday our little girl turned 2 years old! Chris & Gerry came to visit from Wenatchee in order to share this special day with us. I spent so much time preparing for the visit (mostly cleaning & organizing for their arrival), I was utterly exhausted. It was a good thing my husband & the kids were still visiting Korean grandma in the morning because Chris & I were able to spend a few relaxing hours at the amazing Olympus Spa to celebrate belated Mother's Day soaking in various pools, getting full body scrubs & having a tasty lunch. :-)


Sophia's birthday celebration took place in the afternoon. Chris & Gerry brought multiple branches of lilac from Wenatchee & the air in the house was permeated with wonderful lilac fragrance. Despite my busy schedule, I managed to pick up a fresh strawberry birthday cake that same morning (thanks to the recently discovered French Bakery at the Crossroads).




After dinner, Sophia opened her presents. She seemed to be more interested in ripping paper than opening presents, but Gerritt was very excited & did all the work for her. Our girl received several gifts including the pink Corolle doll stroller for her Corolle baby that she got at Christmas, Melissa & Doug's Birthday Party Birthday Cake, a couple of puzzles & a few cute outfits including a dress from Korea. Kids spent the rest of the evening playing with the toys. Gerritt fell in love with the stroller & wanted to it all to himself (not to do a leisurely park stroll, but to mostly crash it into various furniture pieces in our living room) & had to be gently reminded that it was Sophia's birthday present. :-)


Sophia has really transformed from a baby into a true little lady. She is corteous, polite & proper. She loves to say "thank you" & "you're welcome." She learned to jump with both feet about a month ago, so she has been jumping everywhere like a little froggie.
Her new love is counting. She counts everything - flowers outside, raisins on her plate, cars in Gerritt's toy box, little memory game cards & various pictures in her books. She's been able to count perfectly from 1 to 10 in English AND Spanish. It's so funny, she doesn't speak much Russian or Korean, but can count in Spanish. We probably have Dora the Explorer to thank for that. Sophia also loves to read books. If one of us is not available, you will often find her in the library pointing at pictures & talking to herself.


Running away from Mommy, again...

Sophia's favorite words are "Mine!" & "No!" She insists on doing as much as she can for herself & doesn't want any help. Where she didn't care in the past whether Gerritt took one of her toys, she now defends her ownership loudly & with physical force if necessary. Due to his size, Gerritt wins most of the time, but Sophia doesn't go down without a fight, so a loud temper tantrum with laying on the floor & kicking of the legs usually follows.


Sophia LOVES to eat broccoli! I usually steam it until it's very soft & cut it up into small pieces. She also likes fresh cucumbers & tomatoes. Considering that Gerritt hates anything green, it makes me very happy to have a child who loves green vegetables. Every time Sophia sees broccoli she says, "Mmmmm, yummy broccoli!"


She is still afraid of strangers, especially men with loud voices. Sophia spent a good hour of her birthday party holding on for dear life & hiding behind my neck every time Gerry tried to talk to her. When she's afraid she usually shuts her eyes as if pretending she is not there. Magical toddler thinking - perhaps she thinks if she can't see someone, they can't see her either?
Sophia is finally sleeping through the night without any bottles. Once in a while she'll wake up, but go right back to sleep as long as Daddy reassures her he's there. Of course, she must have her "goat" (really a soft white lamb), kitty (a stuffed white cat), sippy cup & her Princess blanket (Daddy bought it for her online recently).


Sophia loves to smell flowers!

She had her 2-year check up recently & it was quite an adventure (I am glad I had enough sense to bring my husband with me for support). She hasn't been in for her well-child check-ups since the fall of 2009 so it took both my husband & I & a nurse to hold her down so that the doctor could take a look inside her ears & measure her head. She had to receive 3 different shots & that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The reason I haven't taken her to the doctor sooner was because her last check-up was almost the same - utterly exhausting with lots of tears, fighting & screaming. Since she stays at home with her brother & nanny full time, she is at low risk for acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases. Plus I wanted to wait until she was older to immunize her fully to decrease the risk of any potential vaccine-related side effects. That's why Sophia's 2-year check-up turned into a vaccination catch-up from the age of 6 months. Gerritt had his 3-year check up on the same day & was the picture of a perfect patient. He did everything he was told & even allowed the lab tech to poke his finger to draw a drop of blood. When Dr. Yam gave him his hepatitis B shot in the arm, he just said "Ouch!," but didn't cry. I can say at least one of my kids enjoys his doctor's visits. :-)


With grandma Chris

Happy birthday, Sophia! Wishing you many more happy birthdays to come.