Pregnancy Week 18

Dear Nakasone-Chan,

Your obviously been busy growing, because this week my stomach “popped”. In fact, I had to put away most of my clothing and purchase…ugh…maternity clothing. My quest for maternity clothing hasn’t been easy since you’re not quite big enough for maternity clothing, but big enough that I can’t fit into any normal sized clothing. Lately, we’ve been living in leggings and oversize shirts, which are thankfully still in style.

However, we did get a chance to buy our very first pair of maternity pants (courtesy of Old Navy):

Very attractive!

This week we also went out to buy your very first bed (minus the mattress). Your dad already filled your crib with some of the hand me down stuffed animals that we had as kids (and adults in your dad’s case).

What you crave this week:

Pizza!

Love,

Mommy

Pregnancy Weeks 15 and 16: Hawaiian Vacation Part Two

Dear Nakasone-Chan,

I wanted to share with you some of the pictures of your first trip to Hawaii. Since you weren't technically able to see what was going on around you, here are some of our favorite moments.

Your dad loves to body board. Even though he didn't get a chance to brave the rough waters of Makapu'u (Oahu's premier body boarding beach), he did catch a few smaller waves at Waimanalo Bay Beach or Sherwood:









Here I am at Sherwood scooping out the Portuguese man o’war. I wanted to make sure there weren't many of them in the ocean in fear of getting stung and potentially hurting you. Unfortunately, there were quite a few floating around that day, so I didn't get a chance to swim:












One of our favorite things to do in Hawaii is EAT! Jon dearly misses the local cuisine, so we always have to stuff ourselves silly when we visit the islands. I read that you begin to taste food I'm eating around 16 weeks, so I hope you also got a nice sampling of the local food.

Here's Dad eating a Portuguese Malasada from Leonards. Malasada's are deep fried dough about the size of an egg covered in granulated sugar:

On a drive around Oahu with your grandparents, we stopped at the Dole Plantation where your Dad indulged in Chili Hotdog:

Another stop on our drive around Oahu was at Giovanni's shrimp truck in Kahuku where we enjoyed their world's famous garlic shrimp:

Here's your dad again before he devours a bowl of saimin. Saimin is a noodle soup dish developed in and unique to Hawaii. It is a soup dish of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi (stock from Japanese fish or shrimp). Sorry Nakasone-Chan, I'm not a fan of Saimin, so you didn't get a chance to try the soup. Maybe another time when you're older.

Here's your Aunt Val and Dad at the Banyan Bar enjoying a Chi Chi:

During the trip, we had a major craving for nachos. I finally satisfied our cravings at the Banyan Bar:

Yay, we found a Yogurtland in Hawaii! Yogurtland is our favorite treat at home:

Here's your dad standing in front of a bus your grandfather designed. Yep, your grandfather Nakasone is a talented artist and designer. In fact, you can see much of his work all around Oahu, including this tour bus which was everywhere:

Last but not least, we got a chance to visit a Japanese Buddhist temple. It's tradition to light incense as you pray. Even though we aren't Buddhist, we thought it would be nice to light incense for you:

Love,

Mommy

Pregnancy Weeks 15 and 16: Hawaiian Vacation Part One

Aloha Nakasone-Chan,

You just spent week 16 and 17 lounging on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii!

Before you make your grand entrance into this world, your dad and I wanted to embark on one last relaxing trip. We decided on Hawaii for the warm weather, beautiful beaches, laid back atmosphere, delicious food and of course family and friends. Ok, who are we kidding we just know we have a free place to stay at Chateau Nakasone (your grandparents).

[Brief History Lesson] Your dad was born and raised right smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Actually you have a long line of decedents who were born on the Hawaiian Islands including your grandparents and great grandparents. However, don’t get confused, you and your dad are not from Hawaiian decent. Your dad is half Japanese and half Okinawan making you’re a quarter Japanese and quarter Okinawan. Your dad is 4th generation American making you 5th generation on his side of the family. Your dad ventured to the “mainland” when he was 18 to attend college at the Colorado State University. However, he decided that the icy cold climate of Colorado was not for him (that’s a whole other story) and ended up at San Jose State University. About 16 years later your dad met me (again a whole other story).

For some reason I think you knew we were on vacation, because as soon as we landed in Hawaii you relieved me of my morning sickness! I couldn’t have asked for a better gift.

Our time in Hawaii was spent enjoying the island, but also visiting loved ones. In addition to visiting with grandmom and granddad Nakasone, you also got to see grandmom and granddad Knapp who flew in from Pennsylvania for a week. Here’s a shot of the grandparents enjoying lunch at Brew Moon in Honolulu:














We also got to spend time with your 2 Aunts and Uncle. While your Uncle Eric and Aunt Chika live in Oahu (where they just bought a beautiful house) your Aunt Val decided to fly in from California to join us on our vacation. Here’s your Aunt Val doing what she does best… EATING pineapple ice cream at Dole Plantation:




















One of your distant cousins flew in from Okinawa to visit family. We got a chance to have lunch with them as well as some of your extended family members on your granddad Nakasone’s side. Here we are after lunch in Hawaii Kai (the neighborhood where your grandparents live):














You got a chance to fly to the Big Island for 2 days to visit my close friend Alicia and to see some sights. The first day of our visit was spent touring the volcano, which is located on the southern part of the Big Island. The volcano Kīlauea has been extremely active in the last couple of weeks, so we definitely got to see a show. The toxic gases from the volcano are very toxic to developing baby Nakasone’s, so we didn’t spend too much time at the volcano. However we did get to spend a lot of time of Hilo on the western part of the Big Island. Here’s a picture of mommy at the volcano:














Even though you spent a lot of time visiting family and friends, you did get a chance to enjoy the island and of course EAT delicious food. I’ll cover the rest of the trip in Part Two of our vacation.

Love,
Mommy