Baby Manatee

A baby manatee. That's what I look like when I'm waddling around in my bathing suit. But I have not a care at this point, as the summer heat has been intense and I've re-discovered the joys of lap swimming at our local pool. I'm hoping the exercise will help keep down the level of swelling that I experienced during my pregnancy with EB. During the third trimester, I bloated to a form that the Michelin Man would ogle -- cankles, sausage fingers, double chin -- you name it, I had it.

Alas, even though I've been walking and swimming on a regular basis, my transformation into Mrs. Michelin will still occur. The expansion usually begins from the feet and works its way up -- kind of like a reverse, slow-motion metamorphosis of a man into Werewolf. Unfortunately, my transformation back to my normal self will be even slower if my past pregnancy is any indication. Regrettably, Mrs. Michelin will be here to stay for at least the next four to five months.

So, that's why I'm not minding the Baby Manatee look I have right now at all. While I may be rolly-polly, at least I'm compact.

Grandparents-Palooza

Looking for Snookie at
Jersey Shore

We took EB on a 15-day "grandparents-palooza" tour so she could spend part of her summer vacation with her most ardent fans. The tour kicked off in New Jersey, where EB enjoyed leisurely days filled with tons of attention from Ah-Gong (my dad) and Nai-Nai (my mom). Of course, almost every day included an obligatory trip to one of the many Chinese Buffet restaurants in the greater Princeton area along with a sprinkling of visits to the park, beach and the pool. It was great to see my parents but after a prolonged period under their roof again, I needed a vacation from our vacation. Thankfully K and I had the chance to visit NYC for a day while EB continued to woo my parents. Uncle A even made a special appearance from Virginia, and had the patience to engage in a few "pretend" play sessions--"Uncle A, let's pretend we're eating at a restaurant!" I'm sure it was tons of fun for a 30-something single male.

Helping Nai-Nai with her favorite hobby

Watching basketball with Ah-Gong

After about a week in New Jersey, EB and K continued onto the second destination of the tour,  Detroit, Michigan. I had to skip this as I'm trying to save vacation days for maternity leave. It was a great visit for both EB and K, since EB had a chance to catch up with Grandma P and Aunt Aud and K had a chance to catch up with all of his Michigan buddies.

With Ms. Olive and Aunt Aud

We've got some work to do on her table manners...

I missed EB and K insanely while they were gone. It's strange; I always thought that I'd enjoy 10 straight days of "me-time." But without them around, the house just felt empty and lonely. I was glad, almost smug, to hear that towards the end of the trip, EB was constantly asking about me and eagerly looking forward to coming home to see me. What can I say? Mommy rules!

Having parents living a few states away is becoming more of a challenge now that we have EB in our lives. We want to make sure EB stays in close contact with them, so we'll definitely have to factor this in the future when we relocate.

In the meantime, we look forward to my parents' visit in late September, when they will get a chance to dote on EB and their soon-to-arrive grandson.

It's . . .

. . .a boy! But, I think most of you already know that since I had announced it a couple of weeks ago (a bit of retro-blogging on my part).

Here’s a 3D skeletor-style picture of the little dude’s profile -- adorable, right? I showed it to Mom, who promptly declared that he looks just like me. My uncle, however, disagreed, proclaiming that he’s a spitting image of K. We showed it to EB, and when we told her that it’s a boy, she looked a bit smug: “I know, Mommy.”

She had asserted that it would be a boy when we had showed her the image of his first ultrasound taken at 8 weeks. On what basis did my little future doctor make this diagnosis? “Because he has short hair.”

She even named the baby “Stephen.” We have no idea where she got the name from, but she’s adamant that this is his name – nothing will dissuade her from calling him Stephen (no offense to Stephens out there; yours is a perfectly good name; we just have something else in mind).

So for now, until we share his official name, Stephen it is.

Can’t wait to meet you, Stephen!