Michigan Vacation Recap

*a fair warning.. this post is long and full of picture collages!!* =)

We took a trip to Michigan for the 4th of July break... we made it a bit longer this time around since it'll probably be our last major vacation before the twins arrive. We started our trip on Friday, June 28th. We split our trip into 2 days... spent the night at a nice hotel near Rochester, New York. As soon as we arrived at my brother's condo on Saturday, we headed out to National Coney Island for dinner =) I have been craving a Hani and Chili Cheese Fries from there for soo long - had to have it, hehe. One of my great friends, Thao (she's also my first friend ever in the US!) joined us for dinner too. During the weekend, we also celebrated my cousin Kat's birthday a little early (her actual bday is today). I took her out for a mani/pedi and we had a nice dinner at home with a few of our friends. It was a fun time. Miles enjoyed hanging out with everyone. During the weekend, we also got to hang out in Royal Oak. Reminded me of so many fun times there back in the day.

Monday, we headed out to Detroit Zoo and met up with Tim's brothers, Joseph & Jalal and their families. We had lunch first before going to the zoo. It was nice to hang out and just chitchat & eat with everyone before doing the whole zoo thing. We brought a wagon to the zoo and it came in pretty handy. It was cute to see all of the combinations of kids in it throughout the zoo. Miles hates being in strollers nowadays, so it was nice to have something for him when he was tired of walking. Even with the rain, I think everyone had a great time. The kids had a lot of fun seeing all of the animals - I think the butterfly garden and the polar bears were the favorites. After the zoo, Miles zonked out in the car before we even got to the restaurant for dinner! He was asleep on me for the beginning of dinner but eventually woke up and got to play with some pizza dough with his cousins! We ate at Tim's cousin's restaurant in Livonia. It was definitely a fun time eating there.

It was nice to spend some time with my brother Herman for a few days. Miles liked playing with him and found it funny to wake him up in the morning. His place is full of random stuff, so Miles explored the condo and had a lot of fun. My brother took us out to dinners which was really nice. One of the nights, we went out to dinner and got to walk around downtown Rochester afterward. I love Michigan summer nights! They are so much longer!!

Wednesday, we headed out to Cass City for the rest of our Michigan vacation. We got to hang out with Jalal, Mary, and Abbie some more. Miles and Abbie had a greatttt time playing together. They played so nicely together - they chitchatted a lot, got to watch fireworks, play at Tetah & Sedo's house, swim and ride bikes, and enjoy the Cass City 4th of July festivities. It was so cute to see them look for each other each morning too. They were truly buddies during this vacation. Miles also got to feed cookies to some horses in Cass City too! Gotta love the country. I'm glad we got to spend some time with family and friends before we "settle" down a little for these angels of ours. I'll post an update of the twins and my pregnancy soon too.

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day Papa! We love you and everything you do for us - you're the best!

We had a nice day with Papa today. Miles greeted Papa "Happy Father's Day" first thing in the morning and gave him a Map/Massage Shirt =) He was a fan of that! Papa also got to open a couple more presents. Later on, we had breakfast and got ready to go to a really cool farmer's market. We usually end up just walking around and listening to the live band and eating random stuff (like these amazing sugar raised donuts from a food truck!).

Afterward, we came home for lunch and did some errands that have been on our To Do list for a long time now. This pregnancy has been completely different from my first - been in lots of pain (hips & pelvis) lately and it's been hard to do or be motivated to do anything lately. Thanks for all of your help Papa! You're amazing and we hope you had a great day today.

Miles' 1st Dental Visit!

Miles' had his first dental visit today and he was a champ! I was prepping Miles for the dentist all day today and just telling him that he'll say "ahh" and "cheese!!" to show the dentist his teeth. He was pretty excited about the concept so that was good.

At the office, Miles enjoyed looking at the fish in their fish tank and laughing with the older kids waiting with their mom. Then it was his turn! Once the door opened, he knew it was his turn and walked right on in as if he's been there a million times! The hygienist talked to him while we walked to the room and he was just full of answers! He sat down nicely on the dental chair and again, answered all of the hygienist's questions perfectly. Once she started to work with him, a Bruno Mars song started playing on the radio and Miles goes "BRUNO MARS!!" haha I loved it. He was soo happy about the music.

Afterward, the dentist came in and checked up on his teeth and he did great. They were pretty impressed at how well he acted during his first checkup. They told him he could pick out a couple things in the treasure chest - he mainly had fun looking but didn't really pick up anything. I just took a couple things just in case he mentions it later. So, all in all, great visit!

Twin Girls!!

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound and got to see the babies =) They are looking great and measuring well. Both were pretty active during the appointment - Baby B even went from breech to upside down during the appointment, hehe. We saw both of their mouths move a lot, haha, a couple of talkers! They weigh 12 oz each and their heartbeats are both good.

After the appointment, I gave the genders results to a baker who then made baby cakes for us to cut after dinner! Tim & I were so excited for this.

We had a Google Hangout with friends & family to reveal the results. It was a lot of fun even with the glitches we experienced. No one could hear us! =P And I forgot to make our screen the bigger screen while it was being recorded. Ahhhwell, still memorable =)




Final results.. twin GIRLS! =) I can still honestly say that Miles is my favorite little boy in the world! hehe We are all so excited about the news.

Playing Basketball & Counting in Arabic

Miles and I went to this one play place area in town .. and he absolutely loved it. Leaving was another story =P Anyway, he loved playing with the basketball and shooting around. He made his first shot and I was so surprised! He made several shots and so I finally decided to record him with my phone. =)


This other video is a little older, but I don't think I posted it on here yet, so here it goes! Miles really catches on to Arabic nicely.

Memorial Day Weekend

During the holiday weekend, we went to New York City. My mother-in-law came back from her vacation to Jordan. We picked her up on Saturday in New York City and showed her around the City. Before picking her up, we had brunch with our friends Melissa & Michael and their friends at 44 & X. It was nice to see friends again so soon! =)

We took Tim's mom around around and tried many New York places. NYC is definitely all about the lights, walking, the crowd, and the food. We got a hotel right down the street of Times Square (high five Tim!) and it was easy to walk around to different foods to enjoy for the evening. It's always a neat experience to walk around Times Square at night - see so many people and all of the lights and billboards constantly blinking and grabbing your attention!

On Sunday, we got up and ready for breakfast. During my nauseous stage, I could really just enjoy bagels. Sooo.. because of that, Miles has really gotten to love bagels. We got bagels for breakfast at this one place called Murray's and Miles was a happy boy. New York City is crazy. Every place is busy busy and rushy rush. It's neat to see and experience though. After breakfast, we walked around. The weather was perfect for it. Miles loved seeing everything He loved "downtown!" We decided not to bring a stroller since Miles hates being in it now. We figured it would have been such a waste of space in the trunk of the car anyway. He mainly traveled in an Ergo Baby on Tim's back. He enjoyed it pretty well. He also loved going in a cab and in the subway. At one point, he knew we were close to a subway entrance!

Tim also got us tickets to ride on a boat tour around NYC. Miles loved it and so did my mother-in-law. She got to see the Statue of Liberty! haha She's always wanted to see it.

After the boat tour, we did more walking around and had dinner at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Tim and I love their burger and fries. In true NYC fashion, everything (yummy, at least) involves a long line. Miles was asleep on Tim's back most of the time we were waiting, so that was good. He woke up just in time to eat! (Hmmmmm) =)

It was a great and packed NYC weekend. Very quick but we did a lot. I was very exhausted =P Tim's mom stayed with us for a few more days and left out on Wednesday. On Memorial Day, we went to a friend's house and watched their city parade. Miles loved seeing the marching band, firetrucks, and the kids. He still talks about it now. 

Miles loved having his Tetah around. He loved playing baseball and soccer with her. He misses her already and thinks she's with Tim when he comes home from work.

1st Baseball Game

Last Friday, we went to a baseball game last minute. I definitely prefer that since I don't really want to sit through all of those innings! Miles fell asleep in the car after eating, so Tim & I enjoyed our dinner in the car and waited a bit until he woke up to go inside. At that point, the game was already in the 5th inning (just the way I like it! haha). Miles was so in awe with seeing so many people. There were many kids so he definitely like that. The moment we saw the field, he was so happy. He loves baseball and knows it instantly on TV or if we drive by a park. He paid attention to the game pretty well. He watched where the ball was all the time. I didn't think we would really stay late enough for the fireworks, but we actually did and it was great. Miles loved that too. He enjoyed naming out each color of the fireworks. It was cute. It was a fun night which made me excited for our summer to come.

18 Weeks Pregnant

Today marks my 18th week of being pregnant. The first trimester and parts of the second have been.. pretty... nauseous. I was constantly feeling off and very tired. Thankfully, I'm feeling a lot better - I still get a bit nauseous sometimes but not daily and constant like before. (Thank God!) My belly has definitely popped out! haha Oh my goodness, I probably am about the size of myself around 24 weeks of my first pregnancy. Tim and I just kind of laugh and shake our heads thinking about later on.. haha oh my. Oh well, that's pregnancy right? =P Looking around at my Baby Sprinkle gifts have been making it all feel so real too. My cousin gave me a twin nursing pillow. It's so big! haha

Lately, my hips and such have been very sore. Pretty painful at nights, especially if I wake up in the middle of the night. I started prenatal yoga recently, so I'm doing some stretches at home a Iot now. I haven't had any distinct cravings. Last pregnancy, I definitely loved spicy foods like Indian and Mexican - spicier the better. This time, I've liked bagels and cucumber water, I guess. I think the nauseousness kind of deterred me from food in general. I just try to eat often so that I have enough energy for the day.

We'll have our 20 week ultrasound in a couple of weeks and we're very excited to find out the genders of the babies. Then we'll have the crazy hard task of thinking of names! We have 2 girl names picked out but no boy names at all.

All in all, the babies have been looking and measuring nicely. I've felt them move and on Mother's Day, Tim felt them too! Feeling them move definitely came earlier than my first pregnancy. I wonder how much I'll feel and see later on! 

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there! I hope you had a great weekend!

Tim and Miles made me breakfast in bed alongside some beautiful flowers. It was so cute to hear Miles waiting for me to come out of the bathroom this morning. To hear him say "Happy Bowtday (his word for birthday) Mama's Day, Mama!" was so stinkin' cute! Melted me. And to open the door to see him standing there with flowers almost as big as him was just too cute.

We enjoyed our breakfast in bed. Miles loved having a picnic on Mama's bed - he was so happy. He also tasted bacon for the first time and yes, he loved it. Ohboy. haha =) After breakfast, we got ready for church. We think Miles is going through a different phase now - he's always been super social in group settings but lately, we've noticed that Miles is getting more shy now. It's pretty cute to see him hide behind our legs and whatnot in group settings. We're so not used to it!! haha He's still so loving and sweet to us, so I'll take it! =)

All in all, today was a great and relaxing day. Thank you to my husband and dear little boy. I'm so lucky.

I wanted to write a little bit about Tim and Miles' bonding time last weekend while I was in Chicago. Miles did look for me throughout the weekend but Tim filled their weekend with a lot of fun and activities. They played at the park on Friday and went on the slide a million times. They went to a Samba Fest together in Hartford. Miles was a cool kid with his sunglasses. He got to see dancers and drummers. He had a great time. Tim also took Miles to a Thomas the Train event, which he absolutely loved. Miles still talks about "Miles and Papa go on the train" all the time! He remembers details like the color of the seat inside the train! Tim and Miles also went to church for Orthodox Easter. They had a little Easter Egg Hunt for the kids and Miles got to bring home some goodies. I'm so glad the guys had a great weekend together.

Mama's Chicago Weekend!

Last week, I went to Chicago for the weekend (Friday to Sunday) to meet up with my friends to celebrate Ria's birthday. This trip was my first time being away from Miles for a significant amount of time. Miles fell asleep on the way to the airport, so it made the goodbye easier.

My flight got so delayed on Friday. I was supposed to be there around 6pm and I didn't arrive until after 10pm! =P Exhausting trip but I was still so excited to see my friends. I stopped by my friend's apartment to drop off my stuff and freshen up and went straight to the club to meet them up. Hah so funny to go to a club pregnant. ;) We had a lot of fun at the club. I had to eat before going to the club since I missed dinner! I had Jimmy John's with my cousin Kat - haven't had that in years! =) It was so fun to be with my friends again - it's always such a good and hilarious time.

Saturday morning, we all had breakfast at a place called Yolk. That's definitely what I miss about Chicago - great restaurants. This weekend was definitely full of 'em! ;) Later in the afternoon, we all went to The Drake Hotel to have afternoon tea to celebrate Ria's birthday. It's always fun to just do something fancy like this. The Drake Hotel is beautiful. I didn't realize that tea was also a Surprise Baby Sprinkle for me! I was so speechless - even got teary. I honestly have the greatest friends ever. I was so surprised and so happy. They had Sprinkles cupcakes (yum!) and beautiful tulips. They also got me presents! (Big ones were delivered to the house! So thoughtful!!) I was just so in awe with everything. I'm so grateful for my friends - they truly are so wonderful. Even though, tea is fancy fancy, we still cracked up so much during tea and had a memorable party.

Some of the group ended up going home on Saturday so it was a quick get-together. Later on Saturday, a group of us walked around downtown Chicago - enjoying the weather. We also tried the restaurant Little Goat for dinner. So delicious. They have Goat Chili Cheese Fries that was just so yummy. I love Chicago's restaurants!

Sunday, I was supposed to leave super early in the morning but Tim changed my flight to the afternoon since I arrived so late on Friday night. My friends had plans to go to the Cubs game that afternoon... Ria and her husband ended up leaving for home earlier than planned and couldn't make it. So, Tim changed my flight back home again to an evening one. So, I got to go to the Cubs game! So random. It was my first time going to Wrigley Field to watch a Cubs game. Pretty cool experience.

This weekend was so so nice. I was so happy with everything about it (except the super delays on Friday). I'm glad I got to go, especially since once these little babies are born - I'll definitely be more homebound. hehe

Tim and Miles also had a great boys weekend. I'll write about that in a little bit.