Happy Halloween, Nakasone-Chan!

We are looking forward to dressing you up in ridiculous costumes just like your brother, Iki.

Pregnancy Week 23

Dear Nakasone-Chan,

Here we are at 23 weeks. It doesn’t look like my tummy is getting bigger, but rest assured you are definitely growing inside of me. While my tummy isn’t popping out like a basketball, I have noticed my hips and waist getting bigger. Kind of looks more like I’m wearing and inner tube. Even though I’m not thrilled about my expanding hips, I’m happy that you’ll still growing at a decent pace. Also, what’s the deal with mommy’s double chins?!?

I started noticing this week that I’m getting sharp pains in my lower abdomen. After some research on the internet, I realized that it’s the dreaded round ligament pains. Usually women start getting them in their second trimester due to their expanding bellies. Or expanding inner tube in my case.

Since the pains usually come while I’m walking or doing some sort of extensive movement, I’ve had to change up my exercise routine. Instead of running or using the elliptical machine, we’ve had to settle for 1-2 mile walks 3-4 days a week. Hey mommy’s not complaining. It’s nice to take a break and slow down for a while.

We’ve also been working on getting your nursery set up. Here’s a picture of our progress:

We’ve hung up the quilt Grandma Nakasone sent from Hawaii, bough new jungle bedding and 2 pictures from target. Your dad also purchased frames for some old Disney and Star Wars records to hang in your room. More pictures can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyrat/

What you crave this week:
Whatever this thing is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkleynicole/2224871582/

Love,
Mommy

It's a... BOY!

After 21 weeks of waiting, we can finally stop calling you “it” and refer to you as “he” and “him”. Yep, yesterday we went in for our second ultra sound and the doctor discovered (after much suspense) that there was an extra little leg. So far you’re a very healthy baby boy and everything is intact. However, we did find out that mommy is gaining a little too much weight (9 lbs in 1 month… YIKES).

In the beginning I was sure you were a girl, but as time went on my gut told me boy. Most of our family and friends actually predicted you were a boy from the beginning. My wish came true as I always hoped my first born would be a boy.

Your dad is super excited about having a boy and already started planning your nursery around his favorite sports team and childhood favorites. Let’s just say your room is going to be full of San Jose Sharks and Philly Eagles posters/pictures along with plenty of Star Wars and Kamen Rider (strange Japanese cartoon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamen_Rider) memorabilia.

We are now more excited than ever to welcome you into the world in February.

Love,
Mommy

Pregnancy Week 21

Dear Nakasone-Chan,

I’ve been reading online and in my baby books that I’m suppose to start feeling you kick somewhere in between the 16th and 20th week. As the weeks past, family and friends began asking me if I felt your first movements. The answer was no every time. I figured maybe you’re just not a very active baby or that extra fat layer I developed from eating too many tater tots at lunch prevented me from feeling your first kick. I knew you were in there, I just couldn’t feel you.

Boy, did that change this week. Last Wednesday night while I was lying in bed reading, I felt a little butterfly in my stomach and immediately knew it was you. Since then you’ve been kicking NON STOP. First thing in the morning, while I’m at work in the afternoon and in the evening when I’m relaxing. While I enjoy feeling you move around in my belly, your non stop kicking has prevented me from falling asleep at night to waking up extra early in the morning. I guess you’re preparing me for the lack of sleep to come.

Whoopie Pies!
Remember last week when we were craving Whoopie Pies? Well, since we can’t get these delectable PA Dutch desserts in California, your aunt Val and I decided to bake them ourselves. After spending over 2 hours baking, we were finally able to enjoy our creations. The recipe we followed made close to 20 Whoopie Pies and of course after one Whoopie Pie our craving was satisfied. Now, we have 15 Whoopie Pies sitting in our fridge.

Aunt Val loves her Whoopie Pies:









Go Eagles!
On Sunday, you went to your first Philadelphia Eagles game at Candlestick Park against the 49ers. My good friend Lisa, who unfortunately is a 49ers fan, invited us to join her for the game. Luckily your first game was filled with a lot of excitement as the score shifted in favor of Philly back to the 49ers then (thankfully) back to Philly. Can’t say that our team played exceptionally well, but they did win in the end. I couldn’t believe how many Eagles fan were at the game. The entire 2 rows in front of us were all cheering for the Eagles. At one point during the game you could hear the people in the stadium chanting E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

During the 3rd quarter when SF was making their comeback you started kicking like CRAZY. Uh oh, I hope I’m not creating a 49ers fan!

What you crave this week:
Honey Smacks - Digg Um!

Love,
Mommy

Pregnancy Week 20

Dear Nakasone-Chan,

Yesterday marked an important milestone in your development… YOU’RE HALF WAY THERE! Hopefully, only another 20 weeks and we’ll officially be welcoming you into the world.

Up until now, I can’t believe we made it this far. About 2 months ago I thought we would never get to this point. Actually 2 months ago I thought I would never get through the morning sickness. Time went so incredibly slow. Now, it’s amazing to me that I only have 20 weeks left!

Along with your half way celebration your dad and I also celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Here we are with your canine brother, Iki Nakasone:









We all celebrated by going out for a seafood dinner and punishing some pumpkin walnut cookies dipped in white chocolate from Cost Plus World Market:










What you crave this week:
Whoopie Pies – PA Dutch dessert that of course I can only get at home. I may have to make some for myself this weekend:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whoopie-Pies-IV/Detail.aspx

Love,
Mommy

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