Week 15 – Orange

This week, Baby Vo is the size of an orange.  I think I look particularly large this week because the picture was taken immediately following my consumption of an extra-large pasta lunch.

Hiking

Today, Steve’s friend Mark was in town so we decided to show him the joys of living in Southern California.  What better way to do this than to go for a hike by the ocean?!  We went up to Temescal Canyon (near the Pacific Palisades) and hiked a 3-mile roundtrip path up to a scenic viewpoint.  From the top, we could look out at the Pacific Ocean and view everything from Long Beach up to Malibu.  (Then, we could look down at multi-million dollar mansions.)

The way up was a tad steep and I started to run out of breath.  Luckily, we brought plenty of water and took lots of picture breaks.  I hope Baby Vo gets to enjoy lots of hikes in this area and all around SoCal!

Into a New Decade

Today I turned 30 years old.  I don’t really remember the first three or four years, but I can tell you that I’ve enjoyed the last 25 years.  This also means that I will be the same age when Baby Vo is born as my mom was when I was born.  If nothing else, it will always be easy for Baby Vo to calculate how old its mom and grandmother are!

As with everything else that Steve plans, this weekend was full of surprises and fun.  I have to say that it was by far the best birthday celebration I’ve ever had!  We started by going out for Mediterranean food on Friday.  (We had a Groupon that allowed us to enjoy a full tasting menu.)  The restaurant easily made it into our top 10 LA restaurants, which is funny because it was also featured as one of LA’s hot new restaurants in LA Magazine’s January issue.  While we were enjoying our lamb and risotto, Steve passed me a gift…a beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings!  I had a wonderful pair that I wore for our wedding.  Unfortunately, those were stolen when our house was robbed a few years ago.  I’ve always wanted to replace them and these are perfect.  I love them!

On Saturday, we relaxed most of the day and then we headed over to Jeff and Dana’s house to go to dinner with them.  Steve and Jeff said that they were going to watch a game while Dana and I hung out with little Evy.  I have to admit, I thought it was odd that we were going to dinner in Sherman Oaks considering the Breas live in Santa Monica, we live in mid-city, and Jenny and Brian were driving up from San Diego, but I didn’t question it.  (Sherman Oaks is in the Valley north of Los Angeles.)  Anyhow, Dana and I arrived at the restaurant and we all walked in…passed the other diners…all the way to the back of the restaurant…where we went into a room full of almost all of our friends here in LA!  There were over 40 people there!!

As it turns out, Steve sent out REAL invitations weeks in advance and everyone wanted to celebrate with us.  It was so amazing being surrounded by my friends and I think everyone had a great time.  At the end of the evening, after I blew out the candles on the beautiful cake from Porto’s, Steve and I announced to our friends that we were expecting Baby Vo.  Although some people in the room already knew, the majority were surprised…so all in all, it was a surprise party for everyone.

Today, Steve and I went out to dinner in Malibu at a great restaurant overlooking the ocean.  The food was phenomenal (I had a lobster tail in vanilla sauce) and just being with Steve was the best I could ask for.  He is a great husband and I am certain he will be an excellent dad!!

Week 14 – Lemon

This week, Baby Vo is the size of a large lemon.

Baby Vo’s First Ski Trip

Over the long weekend, Steve and I went up to Mammoth with friends for a ski vacation.  Sadly, the conditions were not ideal.  (Almost all of the snow was man-made and it was super windy on the lifts.  They even closed early on Sunday due to the high winds.)  Nevertheless, we had a FANTASTIC time!!  We woke up early on Saturday morning to hit the slopes and we stayed out all day…stopping only for lunch and hot chocolate.  It felt amazing to be back on my skis even though I was trying to be super careful.  Everyone should be relieved to know that I didn’t fall (because that’s not what I do) or pummel my stomach in any way.

Besides skiing, we also enjoyed hanging out with our friends in Mammoth.  The village is super cute, but what was even more awesome was our cabin.  Our friends found a great condo with a fireplace, plenty of lounging space, a full kitchen, and in the perfect location for our early morning walks to the slopes.  (Technically, the place was ski-in-ski-out, but without any real snow, we had to walk to and from the lifts.  No complaining!  We were still on our skis earlier than most people.)  It truly felt like a vacation.  I am only guessing here, but I think Baby Vo might already be addicted to skiing.

Week 13 – Peach

This week, Baby Vo is the size of a peach.

Baby Vo has Real Appendages

As I mentioned about our last ultrasound, we were a little disappointed with Baby Vo’s physique…not a whole lot going on other than nubs on a peanut.  This time, however, Baby Vo actually looked like a baby.  It was awesome!!  We counted all ten of Baby Vo’s little fingers, saw what looks like Baby Vo’s nose (hopefully it looks more like Steve’s than mine), and witnessed Baby Vo squirm around a little.  The ultrasound was technically our nuchal fold scan to look for soft signs of genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome and Trysome 18.  It doesn’t look like Baby Vo has to worry about either of those chromosomal disorders, so that’s a relief!

Week 12 – Lime

Steve and I wanted to find a creative way to take progression pictures of my pregnancy.  The overall idea is to see my belly grow, but it’s also an opportunity for Steve to take some cool pictures around the city.  In the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book, the authors list the average size a baby during each gestational week in relation to an item from the produce aisle.  This week, Baby Vo is the size of a lime.

Telling Mumu and Famu

This morning, I woke up SUPER early to talk to the Granats on skype.  They were all in Iirislahiti (except Simo) visiting my Mamma and Pappa.  I can’t wait for Baby Vo to meet his Finnish “cousins,” Jonathan (3 yrs.), Walter (2 yrs.), and Matilda (1 yr.)!!  I also think the Granats cannot wait to meet Baby Vo.  Hopefully we can visit them sooner rather than later!

A Taste of Italy

I write with a tone of sadness.  Today, my best friend, Kristi, and her boyfriend, Davide, flew back to Seattle after a week of fun with us down here in Southern California.  We spent a night over in Palm Springs, where we enjoyed relaxing by the pool during the day and exploring the desert cities during the afternoon and evening.  We spent New Years Eve on top of the Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica.  We spent a day relaxing on the beach, a day biking from Santa Monica down to Hermosa Beach and back, an evening in VIP suites watching the Clippers, and plenty of lunches and dinners at our favorite restaurants around the city.  It felt like a vacation for us as much as it was for them and it was great hanging out in person rather than our usual chats every weekend on skype.

Of course, we told them about Baby Vo at our first dinner upon their arrival.  (We ate at none other than our favorite Thai restaurant, Palms Thai.)  Kristi was very surprised and a little taken aback, but super happy for us.  I’ll never forget her face when we told her!