It's been a busy few weeks since my last post and I thought I better catch up. I thought the best way to start off would be to share our latest ultrasound photo with you.. say hello to our baby!!
We are in love already! A little over 16 weeks to go and I just can't wait to meet our little one. We had an ultrasound two weeks ago and it was so great to see Baby Weaver. Since then Chris has been able to feel it move for the first time which was so exciting for him and really beautiful for me to witness. I know he is going to be such an amazing father and I love when he kisses my belly and tells the baby he loves it. It's so cool to feel it's movements and kicks and know that soon we will be able to hold it in our arms and see it's precious face.
My parents were here over Father's Day weekend. It's a tradition at our church for all the dads to wear Hawaiian shirts on Father's Day so to make my dad feel welcome we made sure he had a Hawaiian shirt to wear with all the other dads. It was really fun to have them here and for them to be able to 'meet' the baby. It's been hard at times to be away from family and friends right now so it was such a blessing to have them here for a short visit. They have been here a few times before so we didn't have to go SEE and DO a lot of things, instead we just relaxed, ate some good food and spent time together. We did go to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum one afternoon which was pretty cool. We toured two apartments that were lived in by immigrants during the late 1800's and early 1900's. If you're in NY and want a little local history and short tour I highly recommend it, especially if you visit Ellis Island as well.
On top of our short list of things we had to do while they were here was to spend an afternoon in Prospect Park. At first it didn't look as though it would happen because the forecast said rain everyday but God gave us beautiful weather on the last day they were here so we took a picnic to the park.. and of course made a stop by Connecticut Muffin on the way in. It's right across the street from one of the main entrances and has become a must-stop for me if I go to the park.
My parents left on Tuesday night and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with wedding events. Our friends Dion and Janet got hitched on Thursday night so of course Wednesday was the rehearsal (Chris was a groomsman). Thursday was the wedding ceremony and reception at our church and Friday was the traditional Chinese wedding banquet.
I love weddings and this was no exception. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome, and we are so excited for our friends! Plus, it's fun to dress up every now and then.
The banquet on Friday night, I knew, would be interesting. Not the social aspect, or the location.. I'm talking about the food. For those of you who think Leeanne Chin or Chinese Buffet is real Chinese cuisine- think again. And believe me, I'm not knocking the Chinese Buffet- I love the Chinese Buffet, all I am saying is that.. while it may be good, it's just not authentic. And really, I'm not knocking authentic Chinese food either, I'm simply saying that it's not all for me. But thanks for offering.
The meal consisted of 9 courses and I believe each had a specific purpose for being served at a wedding banquet. For example, roast suckling pig with crispy skin symbolizing virginity, shark fin soup for prosperity, fried lobster served in pairs because it's not good for a man to be alone, whole steamed fish that hasn't been flipped (which derives from old fisherman's superstitions that flipping the fish is like flipping a boat) symbolizing abundance, and red bean soup (red for good luck). I must say that I was thankful to be pregnant and unable to partake so that I had a polite excuse not to try some of the food served. Ok, most of it.
Chris sure was a trooper though.
If you are thinking those are tiny squid brains... you are right. Chris couldn't go on after seeing that. I don't blame him.
From the top: shark's fin soup, lobster, whole steamed fish (the server de-boned it at the table for us), I'm not sure what that was but I think it was chicken, red bean soup, meat platter (the long things are pickled jellyfish).
It was a really great experience and I am happy that we were able to attend. It was also fun to extend the wedding festivities another day and celebrate together with our friends. I wasn't able to eat much of the food but that didn't matter, I had a great time.
The weather was beautiful again over the weekend and we spent two afternoons in the park, again. Now as I am typing this is has started raining which means that I am not going to be able to wash a load of clothes and hang them on our line.. oops- I guess I should have done that before I started blogging. It will just have to wait..
