MORE PICTURES!!!

Seoul

Here is a picture! Enjoy!

More to come soon!

Seoul Elizabeth!!!

Was born this morning at 12:24 am. She was 7 pounds 4 ounces! Mom and Baby are doing well! \

Pictures coming soon!

10 Oclock Update

Joo Lin is a tough one! She is now 8 cm dilated and we are hoping for Seoul to come out to play. We will keep you posted!

Still kicking!

Things are going well but still no baby. Hopefully soon!

41 Weeks and still going!

We are now over the 41 week barrier now. We are going in tomorrow for another try. The doctor said that we would definitely have a baby girl by tomorrow. He promised, scout's honor, he actually knew how to do the boy scout's hand sign.

Here is a lovely picture of Joo Lin. Just picture Seoul in her belly being all cute, cuddly, and mischievous!

Stubborn Seoul!

40 weeks, 5 days... and still counting...

I went in to be induced this past Monday and unfortunately baby Seoul didn't grace us with her presence. After a day of trying we were sent home. We are hoping to go into labor naturally now... SOON!! Otherwise we will see the doctor again next Tuesday to see if my body has progressed enough to try and induce again Wednesday. Otherwise there will be discussion of a C-Section sometime before or around the 42 week mark.

Don't worry - I am healthy and the baby is healthy. She wasn't fazed at all by the day of contractions. At least she's a tough one!

Keep your fingers crossed we go into labor soon! Thanks for all your thoughts and good wishes!

Coming soon!

This morning at 8 AM Joo Lin is being Induced! Hopefully our beautiful baby girl will be out and ready to play by this afternoon!

waiting patiently...

... for our little princess to come and play! This is one of the wall decorations we have up in the nursery.



Here are some pictures from the nursery now that it is complete:

(I haven't finished painting the other butterfly yet)






5 days until the due date. I know it's more common for first babies to be late, but of course we are anxiously awaiting the time I go into labor. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions almost every day but they haven't turned into anything as of yet. I feel good - just chilling and working part-time from home, which is very good for me mentally. Hopefully the labor is as non-eventful as the pregnancy has been. Cross your fingers!

This is me last week (38 weeks plus a few days). Haha - Kelley loves the outtie belly button, which you can see a bit in this picture.

Always supportive Kelley urged me to spend last Saturday pampering myself with a girlfriend... we went to lunch at The Olive Garden, saw the movie "Bride Wars," hit up the mall for a little shopping, had a pedicure, and got a smoothie. Good times!

Kelley is getting over a cold, and working frantically to try and get everything done at work that he can before the baby comes. Fortunately he will get to take two weeks off when she comes home, potentially working part-time from home also. He is such a great man to provide and be supportive of how I'm feeling these days. Hopefully I am as good to him with all these funky hormones in me as he is to me!

Look out - Fat Mama!

We're counting the days now.... less than 2 weeks to go til the due date! Here is a picture of me at week 37... I'd like to think it's the baggy shirt that makes me look HUGE but maybe not....? Haha!



This one is just funny to me because I'm being silly. My belly really is GINORMOUS, though!!



Ok, so I feel a bit narcissistic with how often I post pictures of myself and talk about myself lately! Here is a fun picture of Kelley and one of his Christmas gifts from this year:



We always look for "daddy's girl" type stuff. Kelley is so very excited that he wants Seoul to come early. His first wishful birth date was Dec 23rd so she would be here for Christmas. The second was this anytime this past weekend just so he could play with her. I don't know if he can wait any longer... almost every night he asks if I am having contractions or going into labor. It makes me laugh!

Kelley got me this picture frame for Christmas - cute, huh? (Yes, we opened our Christmas gifts early again this year - on Tuesday the 23rd).



Life is good. Through the generosity of friends and family we are prepared for this little baby to come. We have the necessities plus extras plus an adorable little wardrobe. Thanks to all! The car seat base is installed after much laughter; my hospital bag is packed after much drama and procrastination (by me, of course!); and Kelley has (supposedly) prepared himself to not be overly sensitive during the whole labor process. Come on Seoul - come play with us!

Any words of wisdom for us as we embark on this new adventure??

Seoul's Room

We got excited to get Seoul's room ready... one of the reasons we decided to stay in Salem for the time being. After just a few little spats (not really but Kelley likes to pretend we have domestic disputes once in a while) this is the result.

Here is our 3rd bedroom before....



... and then it becomes Seoul's room.... with a crib & bedding....



... and the lamp, diaper holder, & hamper... and the vanity that I had growing up (although the mirror isn't on it yet)....


We catch each other just hanging out or gazing at everything in wonder that we are having a baby. It brings such a smile to our face... we are just missing the little girl now!

Kelley's favorite thing is to put things in the crib to show Seoul... so far there is his diploma, his trophy from winning Fantasy Baseball two years in a row, some of our favorite stuffed animals, and we'll see what else shows up there before she is born.

My mom brought me the rocking chair that my grandpa bought her when she had kids. My dad bought Seoul an antique dresser for her little clothes. We invested in a diaper genie and a changing pad to go on the dresser. We really are ready... I think! (More pictures to be posted of the final room)

CHEERS 4 SEOUL

The story:

Our nieces and nephew are super excited for this little baby to come. One evening we were having dinner at their house. We were getting ready to serve our food when Amanda raised her glass in a toast and said "Cheers for Seoul!" She smiled at all of us in excited anticipation until we repeated the words and clinked glasses. It became a fun phrase Kelley and I say.

With that background, for our anniversary Kelley bought wooden letters for us to paint that spell "Cheers 4 Seoul" along with a couple butterflies, a pair of flip-flops (because I love them), and a crown that says "Princess." We painted them in purple, pink, and red and we are going to put them up on the wall over the crib as decoration. I will post pictures when they're all done and up on the wall.

Happy Anniversary to us!!

Kelley and I had our 3rd anniversary on December 17th. Three fabulous years of marriage and we still consider ourselves newlyweds! There have been some big events that happened this last year.

Christmas 2007 - our tradition is that we open our gifts to each other before Christmas Day - we're too excited to wait. These are some goofy pictures that made me laugh out loud.



We got pregnant (which still makes me laugh that Kelley knew before I did - he observed my behavior and based on how well he knows me, made me take the pee test). Good man he is!



Week 7 - to Week 35 -



Kelley graduated June 2008:



So these are the pictures I could find... but we had birthdays, Kelley won his fantasy baseball league for the 2nd year in a row, I ran a 5K (without walking!), friends got married and had babies (many many of these!), vacations, concerts, moving, new jobs... so many good things! I feel very lucky and I hope it will just get better and better.

I love this picture of my grandparents from a couple years ago... hopefully we grow old and are cute like them! I don't have a scanned picture of Kelley's grandparents but maybe he will add one...



Love you Kelley!

Baby Update - Week 34

(Nope, this is not a new ultrasound photo, just a reminder of how cute our little Seoul will be!)

I love to see, hear, and read about all the exciting things that are happening with our friends' new little baby's in their lives. Soon that will be Kelley and I. Just 6 weeks from today is the due date... can I just say crazy?? I feel like we have so much time but Kelley keeps reminding me that we really don't. Especially with Christmas falling in the middle of it - time will fly by! What if Seoul decides to make an early appearance?

We had a doctor appointment Friday and things are looking good. My tummy measures 33 cm and the doctor says I look healthy. Seoul has a healthy heart rate (140) and moves so much it's exciting. We asked how we know what position the baby is in, and the doctor said he can show us where her head is. Kelley got to feel her head in my lower abdomen (from the outside, of course!) - that was exciting! I will assume that is why people have commented that I am getting the "pregnant walk" these days - haha! I asked how people get to the birth and not realize they are carrying a 10 lb baby (we've heard various stories of how people had larger babies but didn' t expect it). The doctor felt my stomach and said she's right about 5 3/4 lbs now... at birth she should be between 6-7 lbs. Guess he knows how to feel these things...? I really hope he's spot on!

I am so grateful Kelley loves coming to the appointments with me and that he has a flexible job that allows him to do so.

So Cute!

I am so excited for Kelley to be a daddy! Look how cute he is with the baby! Love you Kelley - we have great times ahead of us!

Here I Am

People have mentioned they like to see pictures of my growing belly so here is one of me in Arizona.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, so this wasn't our Thanksgiving Feast but ours was just as yummy! Kelley and I were home at our place on our own for Thanksgiving, and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to spend time as a family and enjoy each other. We did our own turkey breast, mashed potatoes & gravy, rolls, peas, jello salad, and stuffing. I made a banana cream pie and a pumpkin pie for dessert. Kelley missed the many yummies his mom generally makes - magic bars, "those" brownies, rocky road (? - can never remember this one) and rice crispy treats. My favorite part is the pie (especially eating it for breakfast in the days to come)! We did miss our families, but it was a nice day of rest for us. I am very grateful for a loving husband who provides for me, our wonderful families that teach us SO much, a place to live, our jobs, the things we learn, our future children, our health, the church, friends.... Of course there are so many more things but I could not even imagine listing ALL of them.

I hope everyone had as great a Thanksgiving this year as I did!

Airport Debacle

Flying... I've done it numerous times with no problem. This time I am going to claim pregnancy brain!

Flight to Tucson:
We were running late so we did the skycap so we didn't have to wait in line. Too bad we got stopped at security! When we were going through security I got pulled aside and the lady started going through my purse. It began as just rummaging, and then she started pulling everything out. I didn't know what she was looking for so I just watched. She had almost finished and gave up the search when, being the helpful person I am, I started pointing out the various pockets she could check. I honestly didn't think there was anything in any of the side pockets since I don't use them. In one of the pockets in the back she said "here it is"... yes, she pulled out the Leatherman I keep in there. I completely forgot about it and then felt completely silly even though I wasn't intending to smuggle a knife onto the plane! She said we could mail it to ourselves or throw it away. Really? You can mail something to yourself at the airport? We were in a hurry so I said toss it. Bummer - I felt bad I got rid of one of Kelley's gifts.

Flight to Portland:
You think I would have learned! This time we had more time but I still got pulled off to the side and had my purse checked. This time it was because I had not separated out my little bottle of lotion. It was in the required plastic baggie but just not out of the purse. Ergh! At least it wasn't as big a deal as the knife incident.

After those SMALL mishaps, Kelley said he can't take me flying again - haha!

The bright side is that we found our camera during this debacle! When the lady was searching my purse the first time she pulled something out and stuck it back in the pocket. Again, a pocket I NEVER use so I believe Kelley put it in there. I checked for what it was when we were seated at the gate and it was our camera! Yay!

Welcome Baby Cason!

My little sister, not really little anymore, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on November 16th and this past weekend we were able to make a trip out to see them. It was an awesome trip. It gave Joo Lin and I some practice before our "Little Princess" is born.

Here are some pictures of us.

Check out that belly! Baby Seoul's Inside!!! CHEERS FOR SEOUL!

Here I am, getting some much needed baby holding time. Yes I do look awkward, hopefully Seoul won't mind too much.

She's got that crazy mommy look in those eyes!!!

We also got to go to the OSU - U of A game too!!

Future Christmas card 2008???

And what trip isn't complete without going to the local In-N-Out burger? We drove 30 minutes out of the way to go to this place and later we found out that their was one 2 blocks away! Silly us but we LOVE IT!

Saving Babies (Kelley's Job)

It has been awhile since I have posted on our blog. My wife has been doing a spectacular job of posting lately and I really apperciate her for doing so. She always seems to pick up my slack when I drop the ball on things. I guess that is why we are perfect for each other. I LOVE YOU JOO LIN!

Where to start? Well, things are going really well at my new job. It isn't really new anymore but a lot of you are probably wondering what I do and where I do it. I work for Legacy Health System (LHS) at their corporate office in downtown Portland. My official title is "Desktop Engineer" and I love every minute of it. LHS has five hospitals in the Portland and Vancouver area and when I tell people what I do, I tell them that I save babies. Ok, I don't really save babies but I work on computers for people that saves them! That counts, does it not? In reality, I am part of their Information Services department and I work along side their server team to provide a more user friendly environment for our end users. I am a doctor for PC's! Some of the projects that I am in charge of are secret but I can share a few. I am their antivirus guru, their image specialist, and third tier technical support specialist. Sounds cool doesn't it.

Everyday provides a new unique and fulfilling experience and I am grateful that through our many trials that this has turned out for the best.

no pics yet... but a pregnancy update...

Yes, call me a slacker yet again... no pictures to post. Yesterday I thought I looked cute and super prego so I wanted Kelley to take photos to post. Sadly, we can't find out camera anywhere.... so you will just have to wait. I must say that I've gained the prego belly! Every day I wake up and my belly is bigger and I think to myself - "Oh my goodness there is a baby in there!" She definitely doesn't hesitate to remind me with her movements... and I love it. What a unique experience and I'm so lucky to be having it. Kelley is envious of the experience I get to have. He still rubs my back and talks to Seoul every night. She will kick him the head sometimes when he tries to listen to her - it's funny!

We had a doctor appointment on Wednesday. I am healthy (sounds funny to say, yes?). Anyway, the baby's heart rate is good (beautiful sound!) and my tummy measures the right size for 29 1/2 weeks. I thought it was funny the doctor requested to see my ankle and pinched it to see if there was any swelling. Fortunately I gained enough weight this appointment so I didn't get in trouble (I was honestly worried). Kelley asked if it was safe for me to go to the OSU Football Civil War game and sit in the student section - he is a nut! The doctor said he took his wife took a Billy Joel concert during her first pregnancy so it should be fine. I thought that was a funny answer - we have a really nice, goofy doctor.

Needless to say we are getting more excited by the day! Time flies - I just realized how quickly the next 2 1/2 months are going to go.... trip to Arizona to see our future new little nephew, Thanksgiving, baby showers, wedding anniversary, Christmas, New Years... then the countdown really begins! I think I am lucky to have all these things to take my mind off the discomfort of the last months of pregnancy (so I hear).

Happy Birthday Kelley!!

Kelley has been super busy with work so no blog posts from him lately! I must say that we did celebrate his birthday early October - what a young, handsome man he is! His mom came up for the weekend so he had multiple birthday days and multiple birthday dinners - lucky man. He was spoiled as usual, which he most certainly deserves! (I admit that Seoul and I got presents that weekend, too - I have a sweet mother-in law!)

Happy Birthday to Kelley.... I'm so glad he was born!

I've been tagged...

Huh. Since I was named specifically on this tag I figure I better play along - ha! Simple rules but I am not that interesting... and I think most people that would read this know these things

Here are the rules: Write 7 random things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post. Pass on the tag.

7 Random things about me:
1. I've been skydiving and I loved it! I will go again someday... when there is not a baby in my belly.
2. I've always wanted to get my pilots license.
3. My 3 siblings and I were all adopted - brothers were born in Oregon, my sister and I were born in Korea (not biologically related, though.
4. It's a given that I'm a nerd, but freshman year of college I chatted online daily. Looking back I have to wonder why...
5. I am scared of the dark and get spooked super easy. However I enjoy scary movies and haunted houses and corn mazes.
6. I keep an (almost) daily journal and I love to go back and read it. Please note it is also helpful when your hubby thinks he remembers one thing but the truth has been documented - haha!
7. I could possibly be classified as a "neat freak" because I love things to be orderly, whether it's at my desk at work or at home. I like to clean, all but showers. [Kelley teases and tells me I have OCD].

Who to tag? Do I know 7 people that read our blog? I will guess... Michelle, Brittney, Jessica, Annie, Jerilee, Kristy, and Rhanda. Ready, set, go!

Book Tag

I got book tagged so here goes... ya caught me reading a book about vampires and werewolves. Can you guess what it is? Yep, not generally my style but I gave in to peer pressure and read the Twilight Series.

Rules:

1. Get the book that's on your nightstand (or whatever you happen to be reading).
2. Open it to page 56 and find the 5th sentence.
3. Post the next couple of sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
4. Do not go and find your favorite book; it has to be the one you are reading now!
5. Tag five other people to do the same. [I pass, but people can do it if they want because I'm always looking for recommendations for reading]


Book 4 - Breaking Dawn, Page 56, sentence 5 (and a few more) read...
"The music changed, and Charlie tapped on Edward's shoulder. It was nearly as easy to dance with Charlie. He was no better at it than I was, so we moved safely from side to side in a tiny square formation. Edward and Esme spun around us like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers."




Nothing terribly exciting or inspiring but they are good books to read for some light reading.

oh my goodness!

We've now made it into the 3rd trimester officially! Time flies and we are so excited. My health seems good and my belly is poking out more and more. The baby kicks around and has a good ole' time in there. I think she had the hiccups the other day, which was kind of neat. I will post a picture of me sometime this week when I have Kelley take one.

Here is our new crib bedding set, thanks to Sherril! We got the 3 piece bedding, the mobile, lamp, and diaper hanger. We have a light oak crib, which we haven't set up yet, compliments of my bro and his wife. Lucky us!
















As for a "color scheme" we have decided to go with an all color theme and not limit ourselves since we don't have a "nursery" at this time. Maybe we'll settle more on a color once we figure out where we will settle.

She moves!

If you haven't figured it out yet, our baby girl's name is going to be Seoul Elizabeth. I was born in Seoul Korea so we think it's a beautiful name to remember my/our heritage.

She moves on a daily basis now and I love it! It's amazing to me there is a little human inside me that I'm taking care of already. She seems to have a routine of kicking most days. Sometimes I think she's taking after me and loves kickboxing already - ha! My tummy physically moves now and Kelley was able to see and feel it for the first time Tuesday. He looked over while we were watching tv and saw the movement so he put his hand on my tummy. There have been a couple times that he thought he felt her in the past but this time we're sure. Plus it's been a few times since then. Exciting!!

Here is a photo of me from a couple weeks ago I never got around to posting (22 weeks):



















Here is a photo of me tonight - I think my belly is finally getting bigger so people can tell I'm pregnant! (24 weeks)

Long Awaited Post: Our Home

I know I promised photos of the interior of our new place many moons ago. Here they are!




We still love it and will miss it when we move (whenever that happens). Kelley's favorite feature is the garage for the extra space, which includes increasing our food storage - yay! My favorite feature is still the stairs... I think they're doing wonders for this prego mama's bum and metabolism.

As I mentioned before it's nice to live in a neighborhood without the traffic of people and looking for an open parking space. It is quiet around here and we don't see a ton of the neighbors. However, there are some funky nighttime happenings around here....

There are howling dogs across the street. I think we're finally adjusting and tuning them out.

One night we woke up around 2 AM to the duplex neighbor woman crying in obvious pain, including moaning and talking about her pains coming faster. My first thought was "go to the hospital if you're in labor" - then I thought it must just be the pregnancy on my mind since we had not seen any pregnant women over there, just a teenage girl very non-pregnant. (I won't mention what Kelley's first thought was - haha) The noises continued for a couple hours. At one point we heard an ambulance and we were excited that they were coming to take her away. Nope, it didn't come near us. Either she left on her own or we tuned it out because we finally got a couple more hours of sleep before getting up for work. Come to find out a week or so later the woman did have a baby. Good, I'm NOT crazy thinking that she was in labor but we still hadn't seen her... or the baby... hmmm...

One more -
One night we woke up in the middle of the night to a loud noise. To me it sounded like a car had hit a garbage can and then dragged it down the road a couple blocks. Maybe a major part fell out of the car while they were driving? Is that possible?

Things have calmed down a bit at night and everything always seems perfectly normal in the morning. Fun times, that is for sure!

Tribute to Bruce

It is with great sadness that we say good-bye to our dear family member Bruce (Kelley's Honda Accord). He lives on through the Disneyland charm hanging in our new family member Shark Bait Oo-Ha-Ha (2006 Honda Civic with ALL the options). I never thought I'd say this but I truly felt sad when we cleaned him and left him behind at the dealership. I hope he's happy wherever he is... there was plenty of interest in him so I hope he found another good home.

As for Shark Bait, he is Kelley's new love and he is such a great addition to the family. We will have many good times together, I think.

Jasmine & Shark Bait Oo-Ha-Ha - new BFF














Bye Bruce - we will always remember you!

THE BESTEST HUSBAND EVER!!!

So, I LOVE this show with my whole soul (since season 2)! Needless to say when the season ended I was bummed and already looked forward to the next season... come once a year only *sigh*. To cheer me up during some rough times Kelley surprised me with TICKETS to the concert!! Yep, we are going to see SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE on Sunday night! I have been counting the days and there are not words to describe how excited I am :) I'm not a huge concert person whether it is music or anything else but THIS brings a smile to my face!

THANKS KELLEY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Addendum (I got permission from Kelley before adding this)

Think back to August 21st. Kelley calls me at work and tells me that he has to go do another pee test for his new job... up in Portland.... by 7 pm that night... and that he'd wait for me to get off work so we could go up there together. I said "sure" while thinking: "why is he waiting for me to go, that is cutting it close." I get off work and rush home thinking we had a time crunch. Kelley is unloading the dishwasher and tells me to relax a bit and then we'll leave. Another thought in my head: "why is he not worried about leaving to get up there in time" but I trust he knows what he's doing. We head out... he's not excessively speeding and we're just chatting. I finally ask the question - why do you have to do another pee test? He made up something and I seemed to buy it. Closer to Portland I am starting to get worried that we're not going to make it to the place by 7 pm, but again, Kelley seems unworried. About 6:45, not close to our destination he asks me to get a paper out of the middle console. I pull out a card, flip it over, see my name on it, and ask if it's something I should be seeing (I'm a dork!). Kelley then has a huge grin and says "yes, open it". Inside is one of the best cards I've ever gotten (yes, I read everything before looking inside)... and inside are folded TICKETS!! It doesn't register at first but then it dawns on me - he is NOT going to do another pee test - we are going to SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. RIGHT NOW! We pull into the Rose Garden, park, and meander over to the entrance. In the open area there are skateboarders and BMX bikers with various booths. I thought it was kind of a strange crowd to be going to this performance, but cool, whatever, I AM GOING. We get inside, the girl scans our tickets and it rings up as "invalid date" - what does that mean? Kelley leads me back outside thinking maybe it's at the Coliseum. As we walk outside I look at the tickets again. Yep, right place. Yep, the 21st... but wait, it's not SUNDAY today. The concert is SEPTEMBER 21st... a month from today! Kelley is super embarrassed but I think it's totally hilarious and cute of him!! He completely surprised me with these tickets and then we get an extra memory tacked on because we get to go to the actual concert in a month. Good times in the Rice family!!

We are having a......

....well...we aren't having twins! Kelley is really taking that one rough. He says that he is going to pump me full of fertility drugs until we have twins. Silly man!

Well...did you figure it out yet???

Tuesday is the day...

...that we find out what our baby will be. We are really excited and we don't know how much sleep we will get tonight...hopefully we won't forgot to post something tomorrow evening.