Merry Christmas 2012!

Before Macy came we saw Santa Claus.

38 weeks pregnant

    This is the most special Christmas for our family, with the birth of our daughter on December 21st.  We came home from the hospital on the 23rd and had already wrapped the gifts.  On Christmas Eve, Carter opened one gift and we read the story of Jesus' birth (pinned Carter down, while he attempted to rip pages from the book).  That night, Macy was having her own celebration and kept us up most of the night.  Right on cue, Carter was up at 6:30 am; we summoned all our energy to give him the Christmas he deserves.  Now that he is 21 months old, he had a lot more fun opening gifts.  He would carefully tear 1 inch squares off at a time, not knowing how to shred into the gift with lightning speed.  His grandparents made the day by sending so many gifts for him and Macy.  That was sooo sweet, guys!  He got DVDS, a stuffed Elmo, a Leap Frog story pad, books, toy cars and trucks, a playhouse, and a remote control floating fish.  Carter loved everything and had such priceless reactions.  Macy slept and slept, but she got some really cute clothes.  Later we ate, took photos, and went out on our first walk with Macy in the stroller.  She showed her excitement by sleeping the whole time.  Next year, we look forward to having an awake little girl to share in our traditions. 

  

Introducing Macy Taylor Phillips

  Our precious Christmas gift has arrived, Macy was born at 11:28 am on December 21st, 2012.  She weighed 6.9 lbs. and was 20 in. long.  We are overjoyed to spend Christmas together, as a new family of four.  Praise God for his blessing and trusting us with a beautiful little girl.

My friend from work had her baby, Lucas, 3 hours after me and they put us in the same hospital room.   Macy's first boyfriend!

24 Weeks Update

  

20 weeks

           The poor second child gets so neglected.  I can already see the evidence.  My last post was at 9 weeks, with Carter I blogged at least monthly with pregnancy updates.  Let me do a quick summary of what you've missed.  Felt super sick until 12 weeks and then everything was good after that.  At 15 weeks, we went to an ultrasound clinic in the states and were completely shocked to find out we're having a girl!  Our families were in the room when we found out, everybody was so surprised, mom and I cried.  I still have trouble believing it.  Over the summer I focused all my efforts on buying hair bows, dresses, tutus, tights, leg warmers, hats, and all things PINK.  This will be a girly girl, at least while I'm in control.  I started feeling her move at 18 weeks and now she getting pretty strong.  At 20 weeks, our HK doc confirmed the gender and did a fetal scan.  Praise the Lord that she is perfectly healthy.  Now at 24 weeks, I'm still feeling good.  I have been taking way too many taxis to help me cope with the heat.  I've gained around 8 pounds, just because I was so sick at first.  I'm not able to eat as much as I could with Carter, which is sad.  I was starving the whole 2nd trimester with him.  I crave carbs: pizza, pasta, bread, fries, and COKES.  I sleep 9 hours a night and if I don't I can barely function.  Work has been really great, I'm loving my fourth graders this year.  Carter has been taking care of a fake baby doll, to prepare for being a brother.  He loves to hug it and put her to bed.  That is the extent of his understanding of a baby coming soon.  Our next appt. is at 28 weeks.  I'll leave you with the 1st belly picture I've taken this pregnancy and pics from our fetal scan.

24 weeks

20 weeks

 

I'm Pregnant! 9 Weeks Update

   I'm pregnant!  We found out 5 weeks ago.  So very happy.  On June 1st, we went to the doctor for our 9 week baby check-up.   I've been counting down because I'd yet to see the baby and until you've seen them, it's hard to believe they are real.  I've certainly felt pregnant, though, very nauseous, exhausted, and NO appetite.  I've actually lost about 7 pounds, which is exactly how much weight I had left from carrying Carter.  So even though I'd love to have an appetite, I'm happy to start fresh.  We are going to Prince of Wales Hospital and seeing Dr. Leung this time, because they allow the baby to be in your room, not in a nursery, like Carter.
   They finally called us into his office and we chatted for a bit.  He's a lot like Dr. Wong- serious, quiet, matter-of-fact, and clinical.  That's fine with me, he's successfully delivered many babies for my friends here.  Next we looked at the sonogram.  Drumroll...... another healthy baby in growing in my belly.  Phew, praise God!  I just didn't think it was possible to be so blessed.  There on the screen, baby #2 was moving it's arms and legs.  We could see the heart beating.  He switched it to a 3D image and we could see our little blob in all it's disproportionate glory.  Giant head, shorts arms and legs, that's normal for 9 weeks.  I was just so thankful.  He gave us a DVD with a video and pics.  Dr. Leung says my due date is Dec. 29th.  I'm planning to have a C-section, because of what happened last time.  We're pretty sure we're going to choose December 21st, 2012 for the "birth"day.  Blair, Asia, and me all have birthdays on the 21st of the month and it's the farthest from Christmas without being too soon for the baby to be healthy.  Carter will be 21 months older, pretty close, but that's what we wanted.
   After all that exciting stuff, they had to take blood.  Let's just say, people were staring, there was wailing and some tears.  Someone left the hospital feeling very ashamed.  Thank God they got it on the first "stick".

Looks like our baby is an angler fish!

14 Months Old

   It's been a long time since you've heard from me.  I blame that on the fact that Carter NEVER stops moving.  I've never witnessed anything like it.  From the moment I take him out of his crib in the morning, he is non-stop until his nap.  I seriously can't keep up.  His latest skill is climbing; he can climb on the couch and then on the back of the couch.  As though he wasn't dangerous enough already, now you can't turn your back on him.  Fortunately he still takes 2 naps and sleeps 11-12 hours a night.  He's getting much faster and steadier at walking.  Now he puts his hands by his side, rather than holding them up in safety mode.
  The most exciting thing Carter has started doing is talking.  He has 20 words now!  I wasn't sure when a word counts, so I count a word when he uses it on his own in context.  The other day I handed him his toothbrush and he said "Thank you" without any prompting.  I can't tell you how cool that is.  So I've ditched the baby sign language and put all my effort into labeling everything we see.  He's like a parrot, he'll repeat single words with pretty good accuracy.  His favorite words are ball, dog, cracker, and of course DADA!  He rarely says mama and shows a strong preference for Daddy.  Did you hear my heart breaking just now?  Could it be because I try to wrestle him into hugging me, when all he wants to do is walk?  He hates snuggling.
   Carter still loves eating.  He eats what we eat, for the most part.  He drinks 2 cups of milk a day and then lots of water.  I'm going to hold out on juice as long as possible.
  We come home in 10 days and I can't wait for Carter to get to know his baby cousin, Harper!

Chi Lin Nunnery

        Over Spring Break, we went to an old nunnery in Diamond Hill.  It's this huge garden with temples, pagodas, and beautiful trees.  Let me tell you one thing, cheetos and cokes are not welcome in this nunnery.  We almost got attacked while trying to enter the park with our snacks.  We had two police officers or maybe security guards stop us and make us back away from the entrance until we were done eating.  Carter liked walking around the temple and attracting people to take his photo.  It was nice to do something cultural, for a change. 

Carter's 1st Trip to Disneyland

          I always told myself I would never bring my kids to Disney before they were old enough to remember it.  As a parent, you quickly learn how to eat your words.  Since we have a Disneyland so close, we couldn't resist the urge to take Carter.  I remember going to Disneyland in California when I was little.  I told Blair I had to get a hat for Carter, with his name monogrammed on the back, because I got one when I was a kid.  We went with Tom, Kathie, and Baby Oakley.  Ahead of time, I researched which rides were appropriate for babies, so that I would be prepared.  Carter rode the River Boat Cruise, Orbitron, It's a Small World, saw the parade and The Golden Mickeys Show, and met Mickey himself.  The adults rode Space Mountain and the new Toy Story ride called the RC Racer.  I had my heart set on letting Carter ride Dumbo, but the line was always so long, therefore we just took a pic with Dumbo.  His favorite ride was It's a Small World.  He loved to look at the different characters and listen to the music.  He only had one meltdown, when mom and dad went on a ride and left him with Kathie.  I think he thought we abandoned him.  Even though he won't remember his first trip to Disney, we've got lots of pics to show him how much fun he had.

Walking Around the City

Carter has been walking for 2 weeks now and he's surprisingly stable.  He's walking all over Hong Kong these days.  We've taken him to the harbor front in Tsim Sha Tsui, a temple, and to many playgrounds.