we went to one of addison's classmates' birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese the other weekend. that place is a zoo!... especially on a saturday afternoon. it was packed. my head was spinning from all the noise, lights and kids running around recklessly. i was worn out afterwards and beat up! addison accidentally clocked me in the face with one of those wooden skee balls! those balls are solid! ouch. anyway, addie loves trying to play those games even the ones that are too old for her. she loves watching the machine spit out the tickets so she can pick out a prize at the end. but i got so mad at this one kid at one point. this older kid kept taking tickets from machines that other kids were playing on! what a little weasel! he took two of addison's thinking that we didn't see it, but i saw it alright! i was like, "excuse me, you can't take tickets from other kids. that's not very nice." you know, because addie was working dang hard for those tickets! the boy just looked at me and walked away. hoodlum! where was his mother?!

anyway, i realized when we got there that addison was the only girl at the party! her class consists of mostly boys. i guess she was the only girl (out of like 4 girls) that showed up. it was funny. i don't think she had a clue. she enjoyed herself regardless. hey, as long as there are games, food, prizes and cake... it's a good place to be! :)









zachary, addison, samarth, kyle, jack



addie and the boys...
brett, zachary, addison, samarth, kyle, jack, nihkil and grahm

19 weeks

well, i just started my 19th week of pregnancy. and actually, we had our anatomy ultrasound today. about 4 years ago when we had the same ultrasound for when i was pregnant with addison, the technician and doctors had found that my umbilical cord was not normal. i had what is called a Single Umbilical Artery (also known as a 2-vessel cord). a normal umbilical cord consists of two arteries and one vein. and mine only had one artery and one vein. so what happens to the baby in this situation? well, the baby could have a number of problems.. in particular heart problems or kidney problems. luckily, addison was born just fine for the most part, but did have one dialated kidney and one enlarged kidney. both issues are getting better and there is no reason for concern anymore. but at that time of discovery, as any new parents, we were freaked out and scared that our first born baby would have complications. it was terrifying! i cried for days. so going in today to have this ultrasound had been leaving me nervous and anxious for weeks. i was praying that i wouldn't have that SUA again. i barely slept last night. well, as the technician started working, she proceeded to tell us everything looked great! whew! what a relief! i don't have a SUA and all organs and the size of the baby looked normal. and on top of all of that we found out the sex of the baby today. and it's another GIRL! i had in my head and felt in my gut from the beginning that it was a boy... guess i was wrong! so much for my maternal instincts! :) having a sister myself, i know how close the bond is between sisters. so in that sense, i'm really happy for us and for addison especially. i know they will be playmates and best friends for life. but on the other hand, i know how excited jimmy was about the possibility of having a son. so though it was extremely happy news that the baby looked healthy all around, i felt bad that it wasn't the boy he had always wanted. i could sense his slight disappointment as she told us... he was all of sudden nervously taking lots of quick sips of his coffee. :( but i know he's happy regardless because we created another child together and it doesn't matter what the sex is as long as the baby is healthy. this child comes from our love together and is a true blessing and gift from God. well, i guess there is the possiblity of trying for a third child... buuuut that chance is slim since i told myself and jimmy that i think i only want 2. but i guess i should say "never say never", right?? :)

here she is.... baby girl kim....

jamaica

we recently went to montego bay, jamaica for my cousin's wedding. amy and john's wedding seriously couldn't come at a better time... it was a much needed little vacay to get away from the monotony of life in cold michigan. luckily we were able to take a direct flight there and it was only about a 3.5 - 4 hour flight! we just went from thursday to sunday... too short. but hey, i'll take jamaica for a short weekend anytime! overall, it was a good time... a little hectic and never completely relaxing traveling with a 3 year old, but it was fun. it was nice to see family and of course be there for my cousin amy and her new husband john. and i even got to sneak in a mother-to-be massage offered at our hotel! addison had a ton of fun playing in the sand. she did end up getting a bit sick one evening from something she ate, but quickly recovered. here are some pics that my sister took...



addison and "pa-pa" (grandpa choi) getting some water to make sand castles



making a fortress with daddy



having in fun in the sun!



addison and her cousin, kay (age 2.5) playing together and cousin tyler in the background



PEACE from the "giant white pizza"... that's what the kids called it. :)



time to bury pa-pa!




"hey, this is kind of relaxing!"
yes, this is my dad. it was his idea to bury himself.
and yes, he is a major goofball! :)






pa-pa helping addison swim... and daddy looking silly






pa-pa has always loved the water and ocean his whole life and was so happy to play with addison in the water. he just didn't want to stop holding her. hehe

family time

i love jimmy's days off. the man works A LOT. and deals with a lot of stresses and is pulled in a million different directions during his work day/week. i know he works this much all to provide for us and i know that i shouldn't be greedy, but i wish he was home more. because the fact of the matter is, i love him and love being around him. and i love the time we have as a family. i guess this is all pretty typical stay-at-home mom mushy stuff, huh? he has 2 days off a week, which again is typical for the average working person. but unfortunately, he doesn't always get those 2 days off a week whether it's because he's traveling or he's just too busy... and to add he works late and almost always gets home just in time to read addison a bedtime story and tuck her in.

but this sunday, he was off and it was NICE. :) addison had been waiting to do this project with him ever since she got it as a party favor from a birthday party.


Here they are... working hard...



Checking out his 'lil small fry












Flawless skin!! ahh, to be 3 and have this skin!... :)






henry wishes he could partake in the fun. sorry, buddy.



whew, the finished product!






that was work! he's tired now!






yay! that was fun!