Quebec, Canada 7/13- 7/15

The weekend after my parents visited, we took a 5 hour car ride up to Quebec city, Canada. Since it was so last minute Dan quickly booked us a hotel online. He first came home and was like, the hotel is really expensive so I booked us a 2 star, which I didn't mind, but the cost was still kinda pricey. I figured we were staying inside the old Quebec city wall, which is a major tourist area so I didn't mind paying for the location. Little did we know when we got there, Dan had booked us the second best hotel in Old Quebec next the the Fairmont, no wonder it was so expensive. But, hey, who doesn't like to be pampered a little.

Quebec was like being in a foreign country. People spoke french and city maintained its old ancient charm. We went on a city walk tour and a night tour, it was great way of giving us a broad view of what it was like back then. Every building had its history.

I was surprise that I would keep with being almost 8 months pregnant and Isaac was great to travel with! We had breakfast at an our door cafe, shop for antiques while Isaac slept the WHOLE TIME. At our last stop we went to the oldest house in town dating back to the 1600s, which is now a restaurant. Once again, mommy and daddy were able to sit down and have a great meal as Isaac slept.

Before we left, we went to the city's old Citadel and watched the changing of the guards. I think the one person that really enjoyed it was Isaac. He marched with the soldiers and saluted as they marched by. Oh, there there was a royal goat that Isaac couldn't keep his eyes off of.

Grandparents Yang visit

My parents visited us in ME over July 4th weekend. We started out with a bang, by going to Freeport, ME for a shopping excursion at Coach outlet. Don't worry, those bags are not mine, mainly my mom's! We then ventured down to Bar Harbor, Acadia National park for a few days.

We went on a land and sea tour to look at the historic sites for the park, and boy, did Rockefeller build a lot around there. When you are in ME one thing you have to do is eat lobster. While we were in Bar Harbor, we had lobster for lunch in Chinese style and dinner the good old traditional way.

Isaac was doing great on the trip, except, I think he was going on a growth spurt, he kept sleeping and didn't want to eat. Everything we offer was "no." I was literally begging for him to eat, but finally gave up, Thankfully after a week of lack of appetite, he started eating like a pig.

Isaac had a lot of fun with my parents, even after they left, he would wake up and run into the room they were staying at calling "gon gon and po po" It was really sweet.

We are back!

This may take me awhile to recount our summer in Waterville, ME. Dan was sent to Colby College by his residency for a 7 week course, which thankfully my boss let me go for the summer. We had a blast hanging out, enjoying Dan's regular schedule, traveling, and watching Isaac grown into a little man.

As for me, I am now 33 weeks and feeling great! Our trip back from Portland, ME was a disaster, which is why I feel like I am going thru jet lag. OUr flight was delayed for over 2 hours and after the one hour plane ride to JFK, we missed our connectiong by 10min. we ran through the airport like mad, but had to stay overnight and get up at 3:30am to catch our flight at Newwark, NJ. Praise God, that Isaac was so good the plane. Dan and I were even able to watch the movie on the flight. But all in all, I was surprise at my energy level. I was able to workout and pretty much do what I wanted in terms of activities. I even got to go sea kayaking in Bar Harbor with Dave and Keri. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is coming up. I barely have time to think about it. This baby is kicking like crazy. With Isaac he was a bit mild, now, I would feel random jabs to my sides. So, here I go as I recount our summer....

Pool

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Child with a mind of his own...

Just some updates on how our little Isaac is no longer little, but a child with a mind of his own...

1.Today, I got him some fruit in a bowl for him to take over to his high chair. As he was waiting patiently, I handed him the bowl. Instead of excitedly going to his high chair, he looked at me and said "spoon?" I was like, oh, I guess you use spoons now...

2. His new word is "sing" when there is a song to something, he would beg for me to sing it over and over again. When I am done, he would go "sing. please."

3. Isaac has been so great at communicating, I feel like I am actually having a conversation with him. He understands when I tell him no or if something is hot and he would remember it for the second time. I heated up some veggies for him in the microwave and told him it was hot as I placed it on his tray. He looked at it and started blowing..he was so cute...

Olivia Stall

I stole this picture from E's blog. We got to go visit baby Olivia this past weekend, but forgot to bring our camera. I can't believe how tiny babies are. I look at Isaac and still think of him as my baby, but compared to Olivia, he is a giant. Olivia looks just like her sister, heck, they could be twins only two years apart! E looks great! that belly of hers is shrinking like crazy. I don't remember my stomach being that small after I delivered Isaac! Congrats Mike, E, and Natalie.

Johnson's Here to visit

So the Johnson family ventured to the great Northwest this past week. We had a great time visiting with them. Isaac also had fun being the center of attention, center of all gift giving, and constantly having 4-5 other people willing to hold him at all times, which gave Dan and I a break as well. Thanks guys for coming out to visit and taking me shopping! One interesting thing, while we were in Victoria, we all got an ice cream cone and kids cone is free with an regular purchase. After the girls had met up with the guys, I see my son chowing down an ice cream cone and looking content. So, Aunt Kathy, Missy, and I went on in to get our ice cream, next thing I hear running in the store is Dan. He as like "he's done!" I was like, "so?" Then I hear the cry outside the store...Isaac wanted MORE...so for the first time in his life, he had ice cream and two cones at ones!

Brian and Carrie

Brian and Carrie visits Seattle after a year of absence. Isaac may only be three months old when he first met them, but it took like 2 seconds for him to warm up to them, especially Brian. It was nice to see old friends again! We miss hanging out with them.
Above is also a video of Isaac's recent dance moves.

Memorial Day Weekend

Starting the transition to the big boy bed

Daniel and Yu Shu visit from Chicago

Meet the Illinois "Go" champion

Feeding the goats

Carousel, notice the new buzz

Headlock from Enya

Isaac Videos. Talking, Singing, Riding.

Fun with Adam and Shandis

We were welcomed home from Roatan by Adam and Shandis. We have not seen them since their wedding, which is almost two years ago now! Wow, time just flies. Every time we see old friends, I am constantly reminded of God's faithfulness and placing strategic people in your life. I have to say, they will forever be our life long friends. We had a lot of fun catching up, getting to Shandis better, and constantly reminisce the "good old days." Can't believe college has been years already! Love you guys!

It's a boy

21 weeks, healthy.

Honduras

We are back from our Roatan trip with Lester, Judy, and Courtney. Courtney is still down there volunteering. It was a great trip! We literally did nothing! We hang out at the beach, snorkeled, dan and lester went diving couple of times, and Isaac really enjoyed his first experience with the big blue. We stayed at the Las Rocas hotel and had oceanfront breakfast daily. Amazingly, the sun rises so early that we are all up by 7am and leaving for the beach by 9. The down side is that the sun goes down around 5pm and by 6pm everything is pitch black! Its nice to be away from cellphones, computer, and TV for a change.
Clinica Esperanza- we had the opportunity to visit the clinic that Courtney was volunteering at. It a small clinic started by Ms. Peggy, a Christian nurse with a heart for the locals of Roatan. She is in the process of building a hospital for the community. Hopefully, Dan and I will also have the opportunity to go back and voluneer as well. It was a good reality check from vacationing and seeing the needs of people. Through Peggy, we were invited to a pig roast the was held at the Bay Island resort once a week to help raise funds for local schools. Other than the yummy food, they had a band, crab races, and free tequilla shots. Isaac was the dancing king that night. He was clapping with the band and going up to people just dancing. On our way back in Houston, we had a guy come up to us and told us how he was also at the roast and had recongnized our dancing king and wanted to come over and say "hi".
Isaac had a lot of fun overall. He suddenly seemed so much older to me. He is talking a bunch and definitely vocalizing his needs and wants. The whole week he was the typical beach bum--other than sun screen, all he had was a diaper.
all in all...great trip...can't wait to be back again.

"The land"

The joy of motherhood

SO today, I had another motherly opportunity to clean up Isaac's poop in the bath tub. I quickly picked up the majority leaving one small piece as Isaac kept saying "poopoo." I turned around to retrieved the last piece, but no luck, "where did it go?" I asked him. I then looked down into the tub and saw that he had stepped right on it, smooshing it flat and scattering the feces all over the tub. I think he even got disgusted himself, because he wanted to get out of the tub immediately!

Isaac has been going through talking stages like lightening. He now can point out objects and tell you what they are without you asking or prompting. Every time we go by this flower pot by our house, he will say "fla-wer". When he hears Dan urinating in the bathroom, even if he is several feet away, he will say "peepee." When Isaac lets out a little fart, he will grab his diaper and say "uh oh." And if you ask him what Nemo says he will give you a whole sentence ("Ah-oo-ah-ee-ah-o-o-o!") that sounds just like the part of the movie when the tank is initiating Nemo to tankhood. Every morning I will pray with Isaac for our day, now he is even saying "amen" with me at the end of the prayer.These are just few examples, but it is so funny to see him grow. We taught him buggers awhile back and everytime we ask him where is his bugger, he would grab his nose and say "yewwww." The other day, I was caught red handed picking my nose in plain view of Isaac, as he goes "yewwww" to me--that taught me only thing, DO NOT PICK YOUR NOSE AROUND YOUR SON, BECAUSE HE WILL POINT IT OUT TO YOU!

As for me, I am feeling great. Definitely showing --pictures to come. We are excited for this next baby ultrasound, gonna find out if it's a boy or girl in a couple weeks. I am feeling some movement now, with different positions I can feel the baby. Now, I am slowing getting to the point of feeling winded again. But regular exercise has been giving a lot of energy for the day, thank God.

This week...

This week has been long for various reasons, but for one thing that I can say is that God is good all the time. When we might not know why different things happen for various reasons, we can only trust that God knows better than us:)

Isaac has been great! He had a cold over Easter weekend, as you can see from his Sunday best outfit, he was pretty crabby. He has been talking up a storm and constantly voicing his opinion. He is like a little man. Today, we went out to Dim Sum with the Stalls and filled our bellys up with some good food. Elizabeth was on a quest for the "milk powder and cream pastry" (its better than what it sounds) after four different bakeries and finally at our final store, we found it at last!

This afternoon, Dan and Isaac spray painted his table set and went around the house to wash the windows. Isaac may not be able to do much, but he sure loved being Daddy's helper! Isaac understands a lot of what we tell him. He is even able to start pointing out objects that he notices on his own without us prompting him. Today, we were out in Chinatown, he suddenly said, "airplan" and pointed to the sky, it even took Dan a few seconds to find the plane.

Isaac's new bff