good night room

THANK YOU grandma and grandpa lee {halmoni & halapoji}!! they just bought baby wang his/her crib...this is what it looks like:

{bonavita}

we decided on a traditional crib rather than the lifestyle...though both are great, we went with the classic. i love the simplicity of it and *hope* that any bedding we choose will look great in the crib...the good night room on broadway is closing its doors this weekend but will have the bridgeport store open. we got a great deal on it and are super excited to pick it up. as we slowly begin to put the baby room together, it's becoming more and more real to me that we're actually having a little baby!!

a penny for your thoughts...?

so, i'm getting pretty excited to find out if i'll be a mama to a little boy or girl...either one, we just want a healthy baby!! i'm S L O W L Y starting to prep the nursery/baby room {what's the difference between the two anyway??}. i went to miller paint last week to look at some colors...scott's co-worker and my friend michelle {who is a designer at nike & deals with colors all the time!} helped me see the difference between shades/tones. she's AMAZING!! i guess i have it narrowed down to a few neutrals and a few baby bedding i like for both a baby boy or baby girl...so comments/suggestions are welcome!!

here are the paint colors from the devine collection from miller paint:

{devine reef}

{devine macadamia}

{devine stone}

so keep in mind that these colors look SO pale and blah here on the blog but they're beautiful colors {if you click on the color link, it will show you the family of colors it was paired up with}. devine reef can look minty green, blue-ish green/ blue-ish gray...but the overall feel: REFRESHING. devine macadamia and stone are toned down gray-er versions of what the current room color is now. i want whatever color to be pretty neutral so that i can play up the room with accents and decorations.

okay, so here is the bedding i've found for a baby boy:

{the land of nod}

this is the all creatures great and small line. if you know me at all, you'd know that i am NOT a fan of monkey's but the one in this one - i can live with. i love the animals and the argyle bumper {even though we can't use them!} and the colors in the bedding. this is the only one i've found that i've liked for a baby boy...click on the link for different viewings of this bedding...

for a baby girl...i love two:

{target: simply shabby chic}

this is the simply shabby chic candy patchwork collection. this one to me is non-babyish even though it has the pastels. it just seems so whimsical and refreshing {like it belongs at a beach house...yes please!}. i would pair the paint color devine reef with this bedding. i love the colors in this without it being TOO much pink. again, click on the link to see more of the details in this bedding.

this is another one i just love:

{pottery barn kids}

this is the brooke nursery bedding. i LOVE polka dots and the trees in this bedding. it's SO colorful and all the details are just my style...just so darn spendy at this store. scott said this one could go for either boy or a girl...i think if we had a son and he looked back on his baby pictures and saw this as his bedding...he would ask us: WHY OH WHY??!

if any of you mom's or non-mom's have any suggestions for bedding, themes, stores i don't know about...PLEASE comment or leave me a note via email...thanks!!

need to try...

yesterday, scott and i had an awesome day together. we went to mosaic and listened to something that struck me and definitely something i needed to hear. i don't think it's up online to hear just yet but if you get a chance, check back and listen {august 22, 2010}...it was truth being told. then, we headed off to brunch...just the two of us. we went to check out the waffle window...YUM-O. i had been there one other time and i knew i had to go back! so, it's really - just a window...but on the corner there is a great little cafe called the break & ink cafe. you can order a full breakfast (scott and i shared a breakfast and also ordered a waffle) and they also let you order from the waffle window. portland friends, if you're ever down to check it out, CALL US - WE'RE IN!!

{berry bliss}

my *sister*

scott and i were having a great saturday afternoon (august 14, 2010) just running errands together. at one of our last stops, i stayed in the car to call my cousin june to tell her about the cute swimsuit i found at target for our trip to hawaii at the end of the month...i could tell she was a bit distracted and then that's when the news pierced my heart: she told me she had colon cancer. i felt my breath getting sucked out of me and instead of being strong...i cried. sadly, she was having to console me, telling me everything was going to be okay...i couldn't control my tears. you have to know, i consider her and cindy my two sisters. we are cousins but we love each other as sisters would...

june went in for a colonoscopy a few weeks ago and the results came back as cancer. she just underwent surgery this past wednesday (august 18, 2010) and thankfully, it went very well. they removed the tumor, removed 8 inches of her right colon, corrected her hernia and removed her second dermoid cyst and had to remove her right ovary. thankfully, they didn't have to do a hysterectomy. she called me the next day to let me know she was done with the surgery...i loved hearing her voice. she's recovering right now and is expected to be released on monday...please pray for her as she continues on this journey.

this is also my *sister* who just had twins back in january. she is not even 40 and dealing with all these things. she is a strong person and admire her strength and determination to beat all of this...

{cindy, june & i}

* * *

the night before her surgery, i didn't realize at the time how stressed out and anxious i was for her. scott had left earlier that morning on a business trip to north carolina. usually when he is away i am excited for some alone time and to get things done around the house but i really didn't want him to go this time. that night, i couldn't fall asleep...i wrote in my journal, read scripture and when i finally fell asleep i awoke abruptly feeling as if i couldn't breathe and felt like i had a huge weight on my chest. i had to consciously take in deep breaths. poor scott, i called him in the middle of the night (east coast his time) because i started to get scared. he stayed on the phone with me and gently reassured me that everything was okay...i fell asleep for another few hours before i called dr. stewart's office. the on-call doctor told me to go to the emergency room right away. she said the difficulty in breathing is something they didn't see patients for...of course this freaked me out. sad to say, the first thought was "oh my goodness. the ER is so expensive!" when i called scott to tell him, he was ready to hop on the first flight back home...but i told him that i would wait to talk to dr. stewart. dr. stewart asked if i had anything going on in my life at the moment...so i explained about my worries about june...he said that it sounded like i had an anxiety/panic attack...he said if this occurred regularly that he would want to put me on a very low dose of anti-depressants (yikes!). however, if the difficulty in breathing continued i would have to go to the ER to make sure it wasn't anything else...

when i heard all of this...i felt like i had already failed as a mom. i wasn't taking care of myself to make sure our baby was safe...i was lucky enough to be able to hear our baby's heartbeat that day to relieve me of the stress of wondering if our baby was okay or not. hearing that precious heartbeat again gave me strength and i promised God that i would do everything i could to be strong for our baby...and june. that night...i slept so peacefully. thank you Jesus...

scott gets home tomorrow...YAYY!! i feel that God purposefully speaks to me when i am alone and uses this time to strengthen me. i've had to depend solely on Him and it has been a sweet reminder of His love for me...

17 weeks & going strong...

i'm about to hit the 18th week mark on saturday...ALMOST close to being halfway...before i forget this experience i wanted to jot down some of the changes and little miracles that have happened thus far:

~ weeks 6 through 15 were NOT fun. morning sickness - YOU SUCKED.

~ weeks 16 and counting...it has been amazing. it's a miracle in itself how quickly you forget about the morning sickness {haven't forgotten yet...but the memory IS fading}

~ my skin has changed from a glow to break outs...eeek!!

~ this morning at around 2am {thursday, august 12, 2010} i felt the kick/nudge/punch from our baby. many mom's/mom's to be have tried to explain the feeling. i'd say it feels like little gas bubbles and the kick felt like an underwater movement...argh. so hard to explain but nothing short of priceless!!

~ had a few scares along the way but no biggie. had a bit of spotting during week 7 and then slept on my belly this morning.

~ leg cramps or growing pains...OUCH. these have been keeping me up throughout the night...i can't remember the last time i slept well...but again, worth it. dr. stewart says to take more magnesium, calcium and to eat a banana every other day - i'm on it.

~ going on 4 months of not eating chicken. actually, that's a lie. i gave orange chicken a good effort a few weeks ago but almost threw up at the table.

~ i've had several dreams that we're having a little boy...everyone else has dreamt that we're having a little girl. my best friend dreamt i had triplets...PLEASE DON'T HAVE THOSE ANYMORE.

{17 weeks to the day...august. 7. 2010}

8 - 8 - 10

mark & mai tied the knot!! the whole wang clan headed down to sunny san diego to celebrate mark and mai's wedding...we left wednesday night and the festivities started thursday. scott planned an ALL DAY event for mark's bachelor party so he literally was gone from 7am to 1:30am the following day...i don't have any pictures from it but i'm sure there will be posts on fb somewhere. that evening we joined mom and dad to represent the wang family when meeting mai's parents and sister. it was a GREAT dinner and jill and i had some good laughs just enjoying all the things that come with meeting in-laws for the first time and enjoyed the cultural differences each family brought to the table. mai's family is so sweet and loved getting to know them throughout the weekend.

{mai's family & mom & dad}

{friday, we had the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. mark took charge and did a great job!}

{this one of justin's face cracks me up} saturday, mark and mai set aside the evening to celebrate our sister's birthday at the hash house a go go. this place uses {i kid you not} serving platters for their dishes. if you ever go, no matter how hungry...share a plate! needless to say, we had a fabulous time with family and close friends celebrating jilly's 28th birthday!!

then came the big day!! here are some pictures that were taken either by me or someone else...mai wore a traditional japanese kimono for the ceremony and then changed into her wedding dress. it was one of the sweetest and genuine weddings i've ever been to...congrats to mark and mai!! we love you both so much...

{the three wang boys...love 'em all!}

{mai in a traditional kimono...took her almost an hour and half to get into this! she was beautiful...}

{sisters...and the third to be official very soon!!}

{mr & mrs lai...they are quite the dashing couple!}

{jessica & craig...so cute! they were also referred to as the "tall" couple...}

{not the greatest picture but the wang/kawaguchi family all together}

{mr & mrs mark wang!!} {had to end this blog with this picture...sorry hunn!! but here's my main squeeze busting a move!!}

name claim??

oh boy. a name holds huge significance. i can't and won't get into it but it does. so when it comes to finding a name for your own kid, it's a pretty big deal...

i have a close friend of mine who knew someone that claimed ten names for each gender {she wasn't even pregnant!}. not sure if it was stated but it was known that if anyone "stole" one of her names, she'd be pretty upset...i find this funny

if you think about it...there are SO many people with your name. not to lessen the importance of anyone's name, but that's just what it is. in different cultures i can bet it is the same...i guess in my mind, i'm not going to sacrifice a name that i love because someone else has "claimed" it. i love it when people choose family names to pass on...but again, it wouldn't be uncommon for someone else to have that name. for example, a co-worker of mine just had her baby boy (congrats tiana & baby andrew!!) and scott and i thought about that name andrew because of his grandpa. see what i mean?

anyways scott and i have a few names picked out but any suggestions that you'd be willing to share? my yl girls did an amazing job giving their favorites...keep 'em coming!!