It has been insane since I last posted. I must say that international travel and cross-country trips crammed in the 3rd trimester of housing a baby is probably not recommended. Even though I'm somewhat athletic and pretty energetic, I was definitely pushing myself. At 31wks and 33wks, to Paris and NYC respectively, I got poor sleep and walked-up too many flights of stairs, especially in the Metro and the NY subways. I had to negotiate with CHuperman on a daily basis to take cabs:P
Despite waddling around town with my inflated belly/ 30 extra lbs on my hips, we had a great time in Paris and did what we had to do in NY, which was to secure housing.
The good news is that my weight has somewhat plateaued as I have only gained 2 lbs in the last 4 wks due to all the traveling and walking.
Somewhere in between our trips to Paris and NYC, we celebrated mother's day, attended chuperman's reception, graduation, hosted a friend for a few days, attended a raging party in Santa Monica, and started packing for our move to NYC! PHEW.
It feels GREAT to be home where I can finally relax and then gear up for BIRTH and then the MOVE to NYC!
I'm happy to be posting some pix finally!!!
(these pix are going backwards starting from NYC)
Two nights ago, enjoying a Japanese inspired dessert at Kyotofu in Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan). Warm mochi chocolate cake with creme Anglaise in shotglass paired with their recommended port-like sake. To the right is a sample of their mocha/white sesame swirl soft soymilk ice cream. We should have just gone here for dinner too since they serve some yummy tapas style japanese food. KYOTOFU is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Bar Americain, Mid-town Manhattan. I think the general rule of thumb is that while Bobby Flay has some kick-ass BBQ recipes (Chuperman has made the best chimichurri rib-eye steaks from bobby flay), Bobby's restaurants Mesa Grill and Bar Americain are rather mediocre. We ordered the pork chops and lamb chops at Bar Americain, and both we're so tough that we could hardly cut through the meat with steak knives. However, the littleneck clam and sweet potato chowder was amazing. I would not recommend Bar Americain for food, but rather for drinks, as they have a nice looking and spacious bar.
I haven't updated on Jacob in awhile! He is now 16 1/2 mos and doing well! Jacob is learning how to communicate through simple words. His vocab is building by the week it seems.
Jacob's vocab:
Mandarin: go-go (doggie), na na (milk/bottle/cup), baba (daddy), mama (self explanatory), dada (he prefers chuperman over me), hua hua (flowers), ah-gong (grandpa), ah-ma (grandma), ah-yi (nanny), yi - er (1, 2), wa wa (stuft animal)
English: ball, more (to tell me to give him more food), okay, alright, rock, hi, bye, baby (when I point to my belly he says baby:P )
I think he knows more words but I don't remember all of them right now. He understands quite a bit more of course but I'm vocalizing these thoughts will come soon.
Feeding:
Jacob has been skillful with the sippy cup since he was 13 mos old and can feed himself with a spoon and even a fork with assistance for the past month. He also likes using straw cups. Although the nanny likes to spoonfeed him still, whenever Chuperman or I feed him, we have Jacob practice feeding himself in which he does quite well in my (biased)opinion for being so young! Feeding himself is a messy scene but worth the clean-up.
Demeanor:
Jacob is getting more rambunctious and opinionated. Combine that with his myriad of food allergies - we were afraid to take him on our recent trips, esp with me being in my 3rd trimester. We missed him SO much, esp towards the end of each trip but it's better that he stayed home.
Jacob is a friendly kid. He says and waves HI and BYE to EVERYONE haha. He likes hanging out with other kids, especially boys and is intrigued by babies since I think it makes him feel older when he sees young babies. Hopefully, he won't be too jealous when he meets his younger sibling in the next 2-4 wks!
Music class with parachute activity:
Congratulations Doctor Chuperman! We made it through an eventful 4 yrs. The next 3 yrs will be just as eventful if not more insane. Even though it's a rough path and I complain a lot, I know I'm very lucky and blessed overall. =D
Mother's Day at Banana Boat! Jacob loves his toast!
Everything ends on a sweet note:
Angelina's in Paris (across from the Louvre). Pictured is a mont blanc dessert + hot sipping chocolate = LETHAL. I almost went into a coma after having a few sips of Angelina's famous hot cocoa. Couple that with a few bites of their other famous dessert, mont blanc, which is chestnut puree on top of meringue. Luckily I SHARED this with my friend. Good thing Chuperman was out exploring and taking pix of Paris on foot, he would have been disgusted by our lil high tea session. The hot cocoa is NOT recommended unless you're an extreme chocoholic. It's like sipping watered down hot fudge. I prefer my hot cocoa au lait style or american style - with milk! The mont blanc is DEFINITELY recommended. It actually wasn't too sweet and pairs well with Ceylon tea.
