Don't Mess With Ancient Chinese Techniques

Saturday night we were over at Samir and Manisha's house. They're having a girl in April, and we started talking about my upcoming ultrasound. Samir knew of a Chinese gender prediction website, so after dinner we all settled in to learn from the Chinese masters.

When we entered my info into the site, it made pretty much the same prediction that most of our friends did...a girl. So there it was - an official prediction ("guaranteed" to be correct) was now out there... we'd have to wait and see on Monday.

Well Monday came along, and it was time to leave for the appt. As usual Amit wasn't ready yet. This date seemed so far away for so long, and now we were finally about to leave...if Amit ever decided to be done brushing his hair. Amit finally came downstairs - ok I was wrong - he wasn't brushing his hair. He had been busy getting a camera, a flash drive, and a blank CD to take along with us...just in case! It made me smile. After 2 full minutes of hugging, we were on our way!

Amit was a little flustered, I could tell he was a little nervous. Amit tends to look the same when he's nervous and when he's not nervous - so it takes a really keen eye to tell the difference :) I was anxious too. It had been 2 months since I had the last ultrasound at my doctor's office (in Week 11) and I was feeling really uneasy not knowing how things had been developing since then. I think we were both feeling so many things, it was amazing to think that within the next hour, we'd be picturing ourselves with a litle boy or girl.

We rushed over to Camino Medical Ctr and arrived there about 1 minute before our appt time. I handed the form to the receptionist and they took us straight back to the ultrasound room. Our technician was a really cranky woman whose name I don't know because her ID badge was on backwards. She didn't let me watch any of the ultrasound because she "needed to focus on some very important details". I thought I'd be really upset, but somehow watching Amit's face for that 45 mins made me so happy. He was grinning, his eyes wide. And every once in a while he'd perk up a little more and look at me and smile. It made me feel like I knew everything that he was looking at, even though I had no idea. Finally at the end, the technician let me take a quick look at the screen. I paid careful attention and relished the 2 minutes that I got to see my daughter! Yes...that's right- we're having a girl!

The suspense is nearly over...

...Monday is the big day! I have my 5 month ultrasound where we'll find out whether we should buy trucks or dolls :)

Check out my poll on the right and cast your vote for which one you think is on the way!

I also started feeling the baby move much more this week! I felt it just twice before this week - once at the end of the Hawaii trip, and once the weeked after we came back. It was really faint and quick, and I was lying very, very still when I felt it.

But now, this week, I've been feeling the little one move around a bit every day! And I can feel it even when I'm moving around too. The little one is getting stronger! I can't wait till Monday when I can see what's going on in there :)

Day 2 - Waimea Canyon

Today we drove to the other side of the island to check out Waimea Canyon.  It was a long drive, and everywhere we went there were chickens and roosters running around.  They were on the road, in the canyon, in parking lots, at the beach... it was hilarious to see how enthralled Akhil was by the chickens.  Every time we got out of the car, he was off on the chase.  The only problem was that he wants to run faster than his legs, so just as he'd come close to a chicken, he'd fall and have to catch up again.

Waimea Canyon was nice but we were hoping for more view

 points.  There's only 1 road along one side of the canyon, so you basically get the same view, just from slightly different angles.  We stopped off at the park museum to get a trail map of the hikes.  Amit went in while we watched the chickens.  He asked the lady for a hike that 2 pregnant women and a 1 1/2 year old could handle.  She pointed out only 1 hike that matched thadescription and we were on our way.  Before we got to that trail, at one of the view points, Srivalli and I noticed another trail and decided we wanted to try that one.  The trail map said it was moderate but we felt bold enough to try it out.  I was so glad we did!  It was the most unique terrain I've ever seen on a hike.  Even though we had to be extra careful in our baby-on-board condition, we loved climbing up, down, and around all the rocks and bends on the trail. 

Day 1 in Kauai

We arrived in Kauai late last night.  We're here with Chethan/Srivalli/Akhil.  We've got a gorgeous 2 brdm condo with a breathtaking view of Safeway.  The resort itself is right on the beach, so sitting at the restaurant or pool had a great view.  

Today we spent the day swimming & napping in the morning, followed by lunch at the restaurant downstairs on the beach.  In the afternoon we went to checkout the blowholes in Poipu, the southern coast of the island.  While we were there, right off the coast, Amit spotted 2 whales! What a treat...who needs a whale watch tour when you have this!

The Introduction

We saw our little one for the first time today (Week 8)!  It was incredible!  We heard the heartbeat, too.  The next appointment is in 3 weeks - Week 11.

All my pregnancy symptoms are in full swing - I am only able to eat apples, dal & rice, spinach, and beef (weird, right?).  I'm also exhausted beyond words.  I pretty much go to bed by 8pm and even that feels like it's really late!

Big News!

It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving - we were at BJs with Dumma, Chethan & Srivalli to watch the Patriots vs Dolphins game.  I usually love their pizza so if I had to spend 3 hours pretending to be enthralled by the game, there was no place I'd have rather been than at BJs.  

...or was it?

Strangely, when the pizza arrived, I found myself sick to my stomach at the sight of it.  And don't even get me started on the smell!  I must have raced to the bathroom two or three times during the meal, and couldn't wait to leave the restaurant.  That's when I started to suspect that something was fishy.  Apparently Amit was thinking the same thing.  

Later that day, we made a special trip to Walgreens and which would lead to confirmation of the good news...we're pregnant!!!  We were so excited - it was a mix of disbelief that it was finally happening, combined with total elation.

A visit to the doctor a week later, right after Thanksgiving weekend, confirmed through an ultrasound that I was 6 weeks along.  Another 2 weeks and we'd have our first ultrasound where we'd also hear the heartbeat.  Suddenly our lives started revolving around when the next doctor's appt would be and the anticipation of seeing our little guy/girl on the little screen.

Pismo Beach

Friday we headed off for our weekend getaway to Pismo Beach.  We left around 3:30 - traffic was bad, but not as bad as we expected, given that it was Halloween and a Friday.  The drive down was uneventful...we debated Tuesday's election a bit, and just generally caught up about what happened during the week.

Around 6:45 we got to our hotel - The Cliffs (www.cliffsresort.com).  It was super nice.  Checked in, dropped off our luggage, freshened up and headed out for some dinner.  We wandered down to the pier area where all the restaurants were.  By "all" i mean about 4, maybe 5.  They were all little hole in the wall places - we picked one with outside tables and settled in with some beers as our first course.  After dinner, followed by a stroll on the pier, we decided to call it a night a little early.

Saturday, we laid in bed debating what to do that day...a short hike/walk or go to Hearst Castle?  We opted for the walk to Cave Landing.  Headed out there, parked in the dirt lot and set off on foot..the fork to the right was the caves, the fork to the left was the nude beach.  Careful navigation was critical here...

After our outdoor excursion, we decided it was time for some wine tasting.  TomTom led us to San Luis Obispo for the nearest wineries.  Hit up a couple of places and managed to control ourselves and just buy 1 bottle. 

Tired of driving, we decided to move our wine party back to the hotel.  Luckily there was a Trader Joes on the way back to the hotel so we stopped off for a bottle of Malbec, some cheese and crackers.  Back at the hotel we found our way to a table outside overlooking the beach (and a wedding).  We enjoyed our wine as the sun set (or what we could see of it through the clouds, at least).  That night a super nice dinner was followed up by cocktails at a nearby bar.  It was the perfect day.

Sunday was uneventful...just woke up leisurely and drove back up in the afternoon.  Overall a fun weekend!

The weekend's highlights:

- A lady stuck her thumb in my beer

- When we told the girl at the winery we were from San Jose, she said "Oh wow!  I've never been to a place like San Jose before.  My friend just moved there, is it amazing?"

Good times...

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Uh-oh. It's raining.  And it's supposed to rain all weekend in most of northern California.  Just in time for our weekend at....the Beach!  Looks like I better come up with some indoor options for us - maybe some wine tasting?  Here's hoping all my outdoor plans don't get washed away...

slow week

I'm only working 2 days this week.  The idea of 3-days to myself has me too excited to even decide what to do with my time.  Hopefully, lots of gym time, some pampering (pedicure, massage, maybe a facial), and some good ol' fashioned sitting around reading.  aahh..perfect.

This weekend I'm surprising Amit with a little road trip for our pre-anniversary celebration.  Our 6 year wedding anniv is Nov 29.  Since that's Thanksgiving weekend this year and we'll be surrounded by family, we're trying to sneak in some Anniversary celebrations before then.  Yes, it seems a little early - 3 weeks too soon in fact, but can you believe the rest of our weekends in November are booked up already!  Super crazy...  

Oooh one super exciting thing is that we are going to Gary Danko (wooohooo!!) for dinner the week before our Anniv.  We got reservations for Nov 22 which was the earliest they could fit us in, but so perfectly timed right before our big day.  I have been trying to go to GD for the last 4 yrs or so, but never could get a reservation for the dates I wanted.

I can't believe how fast the last 6 yrs went by!  Thinking back on old times, here are a couple of pics from way back when....our honeymoon in Bali :)

Amit's New Friend

Amit's in Ireland again this week. This is his second trip in 2 months. This time...it's a little more interesting. Apparently his hotel didn't stop at providing free soap and shampoo in the bathroom...there's also a rubber duckie!

So Amit did what anyone would have done, he popped it into his computer bag and is now carrying it around town, taking it out when he wants some company (or least a couple of fun pictures).

Here's the rubber duckie checking out the view of downtown Belfast from the hotel room:

And here's the rubber duckie eyeing Amit's bagel at breakfast this morning:

I just got off the phone with Amit and apparently he and duckie went out tonight, too. He's going to send me a pic later :)