Here are the links:

My blog
Our family blog

So there they are. Other than those two blogs above, you can stop following all the other blogs I had that are in your “list” because I won’t be updating them anymore. Thanks!

Jesse’s whole family came over here to Hawaii last month (July 27) and stayed here ’til Aug. 4. We had fun having them with us here in Hawaii. It’s really different when you’re with family than when you’re not. I wasn’t able to take any pictures the whole time they stayed here so I don’t have any photo to share. Maybe I’ll steal some of them later…

Then Caleb got blessed on August 2. I’m so glad that Jesse and I were able to share that special moment with my in-laws, and that Caleb’s uncles and grandpa where there to be part of his blessing.

Caleb's outfit

Future missionary

Family picture

The whole clan... (3 of the 5 grandkids were not here)

We celebrated his blessing the following day (Aug. 3, my birthday) together with my birthday celebration and Brian’s birthday celebration. We had some of our friends come over, too (the Gellor’s, Taylor’s, and Catahan’s). Jemar cooked garlic shrimp and Jesse’s family prepared the rest of the food. They were yummy!

Brian and I blowing our birthday candles...

Oh! Let me tell you about what happened that morning! So, Jesse was waiting for 12AM to strike to be exactly Aug. 3rd. He said he has something to give as a birthday present… but we had to take care of Caleb before and after then that we eventually forgot about it and went to bed. First thing in the morning, as soon as he woke up, he opened a file on his computer and read to me a poem that he wrote. It was cute and funny! (He still has to print it out, I think) Then at the end, his poem read that he’s gonna give me a Canon Rebel XSi. I have been “wishing” for that camera but never really expected I would have one soon because it’s too expensive. I felt as giddy as a little child getting the best toy ever!

The next day, my in-laws came over to our apartment to spend some time with us before they left Hawaii. It had been fun being with them and we are looking forward to spending another time with them.. whenever and wherever it may be!

It was also around this month that Caleb started “talking” a lot! We love cooing back to him. He also started talking to his crib mobile (a stationery mobile, that is.. hehe)… and he prefers talking to Tigger than to Pooh. He’s so funny!

Caleb’s having his 2-month visit with his pedia next week Tuesday. He’s also getting his first shots that day… and I’m not looking forward to it… especially to the effects of the shots after (fever, anybody?) Well, that’s it for now. Gotta catch some nap! Hehehe!

Here’s what I’ve been up to since the last time I wrote on my blog: SCRAPBOOKING, watching Jesse watch basketball and baseball games online (or with our friends), trying out different recipes (especially chicken recipes because that’s what we always have in the freezer), playing with our blender and my beloved mixer, etc.

Jesse watching Lakers vs. Nuggets (Game 4)

(Game 4′s last 30 seconds) This is how Jesse is when Lakers are losing in a game —- BIG TIME! He’s too quiet! Maybe if our friend, Nate, was around, he would’ve been talking a lot? I should’ve taken a video of him yesterday (Lakers vs. Nuggets, Game 5) when the Lakers were winning so you could see the difference.. hahaha!

Towards the end of my 2nd trimester, Jesse and I gathered as much baby stuff (and pospartum stuff) that we THINK we needed. Thanks to those who sent us clothes and other things, we were able to save a lot. I must admit, it was very tempting for me to buy those cute little baby outfits whenever we went out to buy, say, bottles and baby’s health care. I’m just glad I was able to control myself as much as I could. And if I couldn’t, I asked Jesse (of course, I had to ask his permission first) if we could go to ROSS & buy some from there (Ross has almost the same brands in other stores but they sell it a lot cheaper!) One day we went to Sears just to look at the cute baby stuff they had there & I found a 3-pc set of bibs for $9.99 (I think?) from Carter’s. It was so cute, I wanted to buy it. I thought it was cheap enough. I held it for a while in my hands, admiring it, then I put it back. We went to Ross afterwards and I saw the VERY SAME set of bibs for $2.50. I was so happy! Jesse let me buy it! And now that pretty much everything is here for the baby (& me), I went back to scrapbooking again.

My first set of clear stamps

Here are my first set of clear stamps. I don’t really know much about stamping and I’m still trying to learn but eversince I read about clear stamps, I got really interested with their ease of use and storage. They’re a little bit more sensitive than rubber stamps, though. These ones were on sale so I grabbed them. It’ll be a long long time before I’ll probably buy myself another set since we need to be frugal.. hehe.

My messy workspace

Here’s my scrapbooking workspace. It’s been like this since I started on our wedding scrapbook album (January). I could only do 2 or 3 pages (max) each week (or every other week) because I tend to get lazy most of the time (when I still didn’t have a big bump) or just the thought of thinking another layout drives me nuts so I put off making another page for a few more days. Now it takes me a while because my big bump makes it harder to make a single page of scrapbook. Caleb moves around A LOT (non-stop, even) after 30 mins. of starting a page, as though he’s telling me, “you need to lie down, mom, and make some more space for me! It’s really cramped in here!” Well, here’s a peek of a few pages of the album that I’m still working on.

Front cover

random pages

random page (bride and groom)

random page (LA Temple)

random page (garter toss)

I didn’t do our album the way most scrapbookers do (with all those layers of papers, die cuts, eyelets, etc., in one page) because it would take me a century to finish if I do it that way (plus, I still don’t have that kind of creativity). I still have about 7 pages to do and the clock is ticking fast. I really want to finish this album before I give birth. Hopefully, I can.

Pregnancy is wonderful and amazing! I had an easy pregnancy during my first 2 trimesters. But even though I’m having a hard time now (I can’t move an inch without pain somewhere, especially getting out of bed), I will not trade this experience for anything else — not even the fun of creating a handmade card or a scrapbook page. Maybe I’m only saying this because I’ve had an easy pregnancy and never threw up and all (except for being nauseous all the time, & for those killer headaches I had during my first trimester). But still, it’s a wonderful experience knowing something — no, SOMEONE, is living inside you… already manipulating you! hahaha! Just kidding! The first little flutter of movements are such a joy! I will never forget my husband’s face when he felt our baby’s movement for the first time. I will miss his kicks inside me (they seldom hurt me) whenever I’m hungry, or have been sitting for a long time, or fast asleep (he loves waking me up in the middle of the night). We’re still looking forward to hold our precious one sometime soon– how soon, we don’t know. I’m bracing myself! Haha!