Really????

Well, Mom made it here safely, which is great.  Too bad it's been downhill since then!!!

Exhibit A: Went to the doc yesterday morning, and was told that baby isn't coming anytime soon.  Really???  Dr. Cheung is going to induce me Thursday night (which means I'll deliver Fri) if the baby doesn't come on his own before then.  Because honestly, how bad would it stink if my mom flew all the way out here and then missed it?!?!

Exhibit B: After doc appt, we decided to take the Peak Tram up to the Peak for some sight-seeing and "can't be beat" views of the island.  We took some pics from a lookout point, and made our way back to the road when two men shoved their way in between Dave and I, gave me a little push, reached in my bag and stole my wallet.  =(  My knight in shining armor tried to go get 'em, but no luck.  I'll now be spending Monday morning at Immigration to get a new resident card (it's like the DMV, just way worse and even less efficient).

Exhibit C: Mom and I got caught in torrential downpour after dinner last night.

Exhibit D: At the playground yesterday, a (big) bug landed on Finley's arm and then got lodged in between her foot and sandal.  She was hysterical and inconsolable.  She even woke up sobbing uncontrollably last night saying that a bug was in her bed.  It took Dave an hour to calm her down, and get her back in bed, and even then he had to sleep with her for a bit.  The sleep disturbance has left us all feeling well-rested today!

Exhibit E: Just as Mom and Dave were heading out to hike this morning, it started to downpour again.  They're now off to the gym instead.  I imagine that based on our luck, one of them will slip on the treadmill and break an ankle.

It can only get better, right?!  =)

A Ticking Time Bomb

Even though Baby Boy is taking his time arriving, today is officially my last day alone with Fin.  My Mom will be knocking on our door in about 8 or 9 hours (yay!), and I'm 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  Times are a-changing.  I figured Fin and I should end our career as a twosome on a high note, so we had some mother/daughter time at Stanley Beach this morning.  It's a beautiful day and Fin loves the sand and water, so we had a great time together!

Finley definitely senses that life is changing, but she has been the sweetest girl.  She runs up to me (unprompted), wraps her arms around my legs and says, "I love you, Mommy."  When I tell her I love her too, she replies, "But I love you SO MUCH, Mommy."  Hopefully she loves her brother as much as she loves her parents.

Here are some pics from our morning....

Another Rough Weekend

Dave and I always talk about how Finley has it sooooo good (as though our childhoods were really rough).  Dave had Friday off since it was Buddha's Birthday, so we were able to get out and have three days of fun!  Friday and Saturday we went to the pool, and yesterday we took Finley back to Ocean Park.  Although I won't directly admit it to him, Dave has had his A-game on whenever he's at home....he's been doing a great job of entertaining Fin so I can relax a bit.  All in all, I feel really well - just a little tired and probably less tolerant of the heat and humidity than the average person.  My due date is just 8 days away, so who knows when the baby will arrive!  At this point, it would be nice if my mom was here for it (she gets into town Fri night), but I know I don't have much say in the matter. =)

Hanging out in the pool....I was the fully-clothed photographer, while Dave was Fin's swimming buddy.

Back at Ocean Park. 

Re-visiting the baby moose at Ocean Park.

Nerd alert!  I went into Fin's room last night to check on her before I went to bed, and this is what I found.  She is such a bookworm (I take full blame) that in spite of her exhaustion she just couldn't bear to put down her book.  Seriously.....how do you even fall asleep like this?!?!?!

Our Future Mathlete

Me: "Finley, what shape is that?"

Finley: "It's a rectangle."

Me: "How did you know that?"

Finley: "Because it has four sides and four angles."

Little Mother

As I was sitting on the couch today, Fin lifted up my shirt a little bit, poked and prodded around my belly button and then exclaimed, "I think I see [insert baby name], Mommy!"

Then later on, I catch her up to no good....

And the game went on and on...shoving a ball up her shirt and laughing hysterically until it fell out.  I wish giving birth was half as much fun.  12 more days, hopefully less.

Tai Tam Country Park

Our plans to go to the beach were squashed when we woke up to fog, but we decided to go on a walk through part of Tai Tam Country Park, which is located about a mile from where we live.  Admittedly, I wanted to stay at home being fat and crabby, but then thought that maybe walking through some hills (it's a paved and rather easy trail, so it would be cheating to call it a hike) would maybe induce labor.  No such luck, but it was nice to get out anyway.

Here's one view of the park....in spite of the fog, it's actually quite pretty.

What????  A picture of Giganto Enormo in the flesh?!  Yes, this is what (almost) 38 weeks prego looks like on me.  I had no idea I was actually this big until I saw this photo.

Dave and Fin on the loop back...she was in a full-on sprint for much of it and loving being outdoors.

Relaxing with a PB&J once we got home.

Fin has been refusing her nap lately.  UGH!  However, when Dave put her down for it yesterday, she actually laid in bed and read for 1.5 hours (apparently he's a more respected authority figure than I am).  So today he had another go at it, and she stayed in bed reading for TWO hours!  We were thrilled, until we saw the aftermath.  Yup, this is what THIRTY-SEVEN books in her bed looks like.  I guess it's time to move the bookshelf out of her room???

And here's her reaction to my reaction.

Random Pics

I really have no clue what we've been up to, so I downloaded the pics off of our memory card to help remind me.  You haven't missed much. 

I'm now over 37 weeks pregnant, and getting more and more ready for this kid to come.  I'm pretty sleep-deprived already, so I figure if I'm going to be up half the night it might as well be with a newborn.

Here's Finley eating her first ice cream cone - very ladylike, right?  While most things in HK are insanely expensive, a McDonald's ice cream cone is only $2.50 HKD (about 35 cents) for some reason. 

Playing peek-a-boo

Dave's birthday was last week....he was too busy working to come home early and celebrate with Fin, but she enjoyed a cupcake in his honor.

Here's Fin on L8 (the playground level of our building), stealing a kid's scooter.  She's obsessed with them, and as soon as she grabs one she starts calling it "my scooter" and scoots off as fast her uncoordinated, two-year old legs will let her. 

Lulu Turns Two

Fin's buddy Lucy (Lulu) turned two yesterday, so we celebrated with a lunchtime party at the American Club.  It was about 85 degrees and more humid than you can possibly imagine.  My own personal hell.  But the important thing is that the kids had fun playing and eating....  Here are a few pics from the day.

Posing for the camera

About two seconds before she dumped the bubbles down the front of her dress.

Eating an Elmo cupcake...the dye is still faintly visible on my nails.  Nice.

The only pic of Fin with the birthday girl...

Fun in the Sun

Our streak of good weather has continued for the most part, so here are some pics from this past week!

Another day, another trip to Stanley, another smoothie.

Yesterday we headed to Shek O, a little village about 15 minutes from where we live.  It's definitely off the beaten path and is very reminiscent of an authentic Chinese fishing village.  We've heard great things about the beach there, and it didn't disappoint....beautiful rock formations, some nice waves and great sand!  Fin is a total water baby...she has zero fear when it comes to the sand and ocean.  Here she is with Dave right before she threw some sand at the camera and temporarily broke it.  Eeek!   

This morning we woke up to more sun, and decided to head to our building's outdoor pool for the first time.  Fin loved it, and is now in the middle of what we hope is a looong nap!

Things here are continuing to go really well, and May is the month that our summer of visitors begins.  GJ comes to town May 29, and GooGoo (Aunt Julie) arrives on June 9!  On Tuesday I'll be 36 weeks pregnant, and so we hope to meet our baby sometime this month too.