Installing the Car Seat

Today Brandon installed the base and car seat in the Camry. The car seat has been sitting in the stroller for the last couple of weeks. The dogs were a little interested in what was going on.

Amelia's pink and grey stroller

Daddy getting ready to install the car seat

The dogs are wondering where he's going (check them out at the bottom of the photo)

Bruin and Alice are NOT fans of the stroller

Alice checking things out

Family Wedding

As our due date approaches (11 days and counting!) we had an event filled weekend, starting with Eric and Letha's wedding! The wedding was held at Khoury's in Long Beach. We had a great time seeing our entire family and celebrating the beginning of Eric and Letha's life as man and wife. The evening was quite chilly and it was also raining but a little rain never scared anyone (especially from April's side of the family!).

Grandma Lani & Pop

The Kids were having their own dance party

Kai and Pauly D.. I mean, Joseph :)

Beginning Our Countdown!

Today marks 16 days until Amelia's due date. We've been warned by our doctors that she could go past due which is in fact more likely with a first pregnancy. Although the nights are becoming more sleepless (if that were possible!) we are relishing the opportunity to continue to watch her grow.

37 weeks, 5 days!

We also bought a new juicer this weekend and are excited to try out all the possible concoctions! So far we've mastered the "green drink" which includes each of the following: orange, lemon (we've reduced the lemon to half to cut down on the acidic flavor), cucumber, celery stalk, carrot, apple and a handful of spinach. It's fun to add more or less to flavor. April will be juicing the 10lbs of carrots purchased from Costco - there just isn't enough room in the house for all the Costco sized fruits and veggies we've bought.

Still growing!

Today is the last day of our 37th week which means that we are technically "full term". As we await Amelia's arrival we take weekly belly shots.

35 weeks, 4 days

36 weeks, 5 days

Tomorrow, February 17th is our weekly visit with our OB group where we will see Dr. Reddy for our weekly measurements. We will be sure to update if there are any significant changes in the baby's development/growth. April has a feeling that she will be here closer to her due date which means we have close to three more weeks left.

A little girl can never have too many accessories!

April recently visited the Orange County swap meet with Candi and Aya where she found a vendor who sold the cutest flower clips and headbands. It's safe to say she went a little overboard but how can you not with so many cute flowers to choose from? Here is a picture of Amelia's flower/headband/accessory collection so far.

While April waits for the arrival of her princess she decided to attempt making some of these flower accessories herself. It was a lot easier (and MUCH cheaper) than she thought. Here are the flowers she's made thus far. The total cost for supplies to make the flowers pictured below totaled about $15. These would normally sell for about $4/each (at least). April spent an entire day online searching wholesale websites and is currently waiting for her orders of flowers, headbands, rhinestones and clips!

Valentine's Weekend

Our weekend, like many of our days lately, was relaxed. On Friday we had a date with our good friends, Jenn and Robbie. We visited April's new favorite place - Elbows Mac N Cheese located right across from Cerritos mall. This restaurant is both dine-in and take-out and has 12 mac n cheese options with a new "mac of the week" weekly. It is delicious and April has been a weekly visitor. Upon our return this past Friday the owner greeted April when she walked in saying, "Welcome back!" I guess it's not too difficult to miss the token pregnant woman!

Saturday was our sister Paige's emergence into her 20s! We celebrated with the family at KBBQ (Korean BBQ). We also gave our niecey, Riley, her Valentine's day present from her cousin, Amelia. She had fun opening it and may have enjoyed the tissue paper the most!

On Sunday the family gathered again as we all met for brunch at The Eldorado. Amelia was showered with more gifts by the Fazio family (John, Dana & Amanda). They went overboard with the gifts and we are so grateful for their thoughtful generosity. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see Amanda as she is at school (West Virginia University) but each of us were able to get a turn talking to her.

Valentines day itself was mellow. We received a visit from Robbie who dropped off Amelia's first Valentine's day gift and first cupcake experience from Sprinkles - she is definitely a loved little girl!

We can't wait until next year when we can share our love with our little princess! Next Valentine's day she'll be approaching her FIRST birthday. Time flies and we know it will be here before we know it!

Amelia's Nursery

We have had an amazing time putting together Amelia's nursery. Brandon took care of the assembly of all the furniture pieces. April managed the organization, washing, folding and putting away of clothes and all of the other baby related items (diapers, wipes, rash cream, diaper bag accessories, etc.). Here are a few pictures of our resident handy-man.

Assembling the crib

It didn't take (too) long and it's still standing!

Stroller Travel system from Mama & Papa Walker. The car seat and stroller were already assembled minus the wheels. Brandon had a learning experience of how to get the car seat out of the stroller. It was fun to watch!

The changing table was the last piece of furniture to arrive

The bassinet was given to us by Brandon's co-workers!

Cousin Riley is waiting for Amelia's arrival

We will post a video of a mini-tour of Amelia's room...coming soon!

Daddy's Baby Photos

One of April's projects while on maternity leave has been scanning Brandon's baby pictures that Helen has been kind enough to share. Here are some of the favorites thus far.

January & February Prenatal Visits

On January 19, 2011 we had our monthly prenatal visit with Dr. Endo. We underwent all the usual screening: weight check, fundal height and heartbeat. Dr. Endo explained that we would return in two weeks to start our weekly visits. This milestone in our pregnancy indicates that we are very close to labor, delivery and meeting our little girl.

February 3rd we met with Dr. Koe. At this appointment we reviewed our labor and delivery plan. Dr. Koe asked our feelings toward pain medication and explained the actions we should take when we feel that April has gone into labor. We decided not to go with a full-fledged birth plan as we are fully aware that we need to be flexible with the possibility of anything happening. Ultimately our goal is to have a healthy baby - whatever that may involve.

Our next appointment is February 10th with Dr. Noessen which marks exactly one month (to the date) of our due date.

With the due date quickly approaching April is finding that sleep is becoming increasingly more disturbed throughout the night. She is also spending most of her time at home!

Baby Shower with Brandon's Co-Workers

Brandon has amazing co-worker's who organized and hosted a baby shower on Wednesday, January 26th. The baby shower started with a potluck (Financial Management Dept) at City Hall(Long Beach) with amazing dishes and desserts. Amelia was so blessed to have received her Diaper Genie, bassinet, clothes, blankets and many other very useful items (bottles, diaper cream, etc). Brandon's co-worker's went above and beyond and he is fortunate to work with kind, generous and thoughtful individuals.

Baby Shower with Family and Friends

Amelia was given her first baby shower on January 22nd at Grandma Helen's house. The shower was hosted by her Auntie Paige, Gigi (Grandma Gina) and Mama Helen. These three women took April's request for a dessert bar above and beyond her expectations. Not only did they provide a beautiful spread of desserts (petite fours, cheesecake, fondue, cupcakes and cream puffs just to name a few..), the presentation was beautiful. Additionally, the guests enjoyed the games put together by Paige as well as the picture slideshow. Amelia was so blessed with all of her gifts including a TON of adorable outfits.

Our Move

On Friday, January 28th we officially moved into Casa Walker - with Grandpa Ken and Grandma Helen (Mama and Papa). We are looking forward to spending Amelia's first year with her grandparents and saving money to buy a home of our own.

The move was relatively quick and painless as half of our belongings and furniture (kitchen and living room) were put in storage, making the unpacking process that much easier. Less than a week later we are just about settled in and Amelia's room is almost done. Even the dogs are enjoying their time here.

Sunday (two days after our move) and everyone is pooped!

Nursery photos soon to follow!