Once the discomfort of the first trimester subsided, and the doctor confirmed no sign of any "previa" this time and gave me the clearance to travel, I felt so relaxed. I finally knew what it felt like to have a normal pregnancy and how the doctor's visits were such a piece of cake. Unlike last time,I
recall how I dreaded to see the doctor to find out more bad news or being reminded of the risks of a ticking time bomb I was carrying with me.
We acted fast and booked our trips right away. We first enjoyed six fabulous weeks in Sweden, visiting Mic's cousin and family. It was great to enjoy the perfect summer weather and beautiful outdoor space, such a contrast to Hong Kong. Being able to travel at such a leisurely pace is truly a blessing when you have kids -- I have time to watch and let Jack-Jack take his time to enjoy a stroll in the park, run in the playground, climb the stairs up and down a castle, push his stroller around when he has no direction control, and while some of these things did seem like it took forever for him to do, I didn't have to rush him, and I could actually enjoy being with him, at his pace.
It was also delightful to see Jack-Jack play so well with his cousins. He's at the age where he is starting to take more interest in being with other kids and Elise and Anabel who were 10 and 6 and really looked after him like big sisters.
Then we started our second trip to Taipei to celebrate my dad's seventieth birthday. It all went as well as could be. I really feel that we are in such a great place in life right now as we enjoy this phase of focus on our own nuclear family and the extended family around us. Being able to patch things up with my father was a gift from God that I had never even dreamed of achieving in this life time, yet now I am really enjoying the time together with him, not to mention how sweet it is to see how much he enjoys being with Jack-Jack. We took some studio family portraits, got him upgraded to an iphone, and also arranged a wonderful celebration dinner in Taipei.
Of course Taipei is always filled with meeting up with friends as well. Too bad the weather is too hot to really be out, but at least we try to make one outing a day and mostly centered around the yummy food around Taipei.
Now back to little K#2 -- I actually can't even keep track of which week I am at right now, but I do know she's a strong little kicker and perhaps she had to be one to remind us of her existence. Well, seeing how huge I am already I am certainly reminded of her every day, but this pregnancy is going so smoothly so far I didn't even experience the leg cramps at night as I did frequently last time.
We have another two weeks in Taipei and trying to make the most of it. And then, it will be Hong Kong all the way until Jan 2015!
ps. okay, I looked it up, I am at week 23 right now.
