front yard beautification

as i've previously mentioned, we have done some work to our front yard. it's funny, we have done so much work inside that when people see our front yard, they are pleasantly surprised that the inside looks like it does. so, slowly, we've been trying to beautify our front yard in hopes that it'll be a better first impression people have when they come by. it's still a work in progress, but there indeed has been a lot of changes. we're working on the grass; dp needs to fix the sprinklers first.

this is what it looked like when we moved in. notice the rose bush, mailbox, big tree to the right, ugly doors, and random plants in the two planters. the good thing is the grass was green!

i've been working on this flower/vegetable bed (with my neighbor's help). there's an assortment of peppers, perennials, parsley, and today i planted some lettuces and an eggplant plant.

dp dug up all the grass and the tree got chopped so that we could open up the front view of our home. here are strawberries and two pretty plants. hopefully we'll have a huge patch soon of edible strawberries.

this is the new view to our home. compare it to the first picture and we've come a long ways! i also added some solar pathway lights along the sidewalk. next: sprinklers and green grass AND a medium size tree and more flowers in the corners of our yard to soften it. any landscaping suggestions are welcome!

lake arrowhead and 30 weeks pregnant

we had thought that our Lake Tahoe vacation was the last one before baby P's arrival. we were wrong. our friends invited us to Lake Arrowhead and we decided to get as much house work done the week/weekend prior so that we could pack our bags thursday evening/friday after work to run off for a weekend. it was well worth it. we enjoyed ourselves and it was relaxing. we are thankful for these opportunities, and especially to spend it with wonderful friends.

disclaimer: for some reason we look quite pudgy...

30 weeks pregnant

d-i-y projects during labor day weekend

we decided to not make any social plans during labor day weekend. here are some pictures to describe what we accomplished. the first two are dp building a do-it-yourself trellis on the fence for the bougainvilleas to grow along. the last picture is dp staining our new wood patio set. if you look closely you can tell the difference by comparing the chair he is sitting on to the painted table. go dp!

kitchen remodel complete

we finally got around to completing our kitchen remodel. we basically got everything new from ceiling to floor, took down half a wall, new appliances, etc. it took us about 4 weeks, although it could have been done sooner had everyone been available back to back. regardless, it went by well and there were not too many hiccups. it definitely took up some of our time to coordinate logistics, iron out details, and select the details, but overall, who said a kitchen remodel was that hard?! check out the pictures! we are very happy and have been enjoying living in it. there's so much more counter space, cabinet space, and it's CLEAN. can't wait to have others over and when baby P arrives.

Granite counter top (such a cool design!)

Slate flooring

lake tahoe & 27 weeks pregnant

dp and i love vacationing where we get to "be" and be with nature. thus, for our anniversary and last vacation (at 6 months pregnant) before baby arrives, we decided to visit lake tahoe. it was beautiful and relaxing. the pictures share the story. our lovely friends were able to join us which was a treat.

We visited Quincy, CA before Lake Tahoe (27 weeks pregnant)

Lego characters!

Lake Tahoe

26 weeks photo

i am behind on photo and life updates. here is when i was 26 weeks!

24 weeks... and so much to do before baby arrives.

I know you're probably expecting a picture, and the truth is, I am too! Our camera is malfunctioning so when we get to fixing it I will post a picture. Anyways, I am at 24 weeks! Actually, 24.5 weeks. All is healthy with little baby P. We still don't know the gender; we think it's a girl and have a girl's name picked, but then a small part of me thinks it's a boy. If you have a boy's name to share, please do! I/we can feel the baby kick now. It's not uber aggressive, but it's enough even for Daniel to feel it. The first time he felt it; the look on his face was priceless. I'm excited to watch him be a papa.

We are making in-roads with home improvement projects before baby arrives. We had someone plant strawberries in our front yard (city area) and two small plants. That lifted our yard up a lot. I planted some flowers in our small flower bed in our front yard. Next is the bigger flower bed... I will show pictures soon.

Then there's the kitchen... we will be beginning the demolition hopefully in a week or two and it'll take a good 3 weeks probably. We are excited that finally we are moving forward! There are so many parts to fixing up a whole kitchen, which is overwhelming, but it'll be worth it I am sure. I can't wait for the big reveal. We've hired two different people/companies to do it, so at least DP will have a break from that (although of course if he could he would... haha).

And lastly, there's the back yard. We just bought a new patio set that we can sit and enjoy the outdoors with. DP started digging and planting some vines and plants, so hopefully that'll be done in the next few weeks. Also, he is quite the gardener. We have a flourishing basil plant, tomatoes, jalapeno plant, and more! Go DP!

Other than that, DP and I are doing very well. Trying to sleep in when possible, enjoy our couples time together, being with loved ones, and growing our faith and marriage.

Love to all of you!

growth... in all areas

here is my 18 weeks preggers photo although tomorrow marks my 22nd week. time is passing so quickly. we've been busy doing meaningful things (friends, visitors, landscaping, preparing to redo our kitchen, marriage/ parenting preparations, friends' new baby births, home improvements, and personal growth). that's it all in a nut shell! oh, and i launched my own blog at www.growintoyourself.com; do come visit!! so the title fits us perfectly... we are experiencing much growth in all realms at this point in our lives. sometimes the growth spurt is challenging, but in general, we feel like it's going in the right direction. we are thankful the pregnancy is going smoothly and are excited for our new bundle of joy (and headaches!)

18 weeks!

I got a little carried away at Home Depot with plants... DP didn't realize that meant we have begun landscaping...

DP replaced pipes like these under our home; what a gifted plumber!

I hosted EW's baby shower; they have a baby girl now!

SB (QU roomie) and hubby visited!

Z & AM visited!

ct visit & new orleans

we had our longest vacation recently (8 days away) visiting home and new orleans since our may 2010 madrid and malta visit. we got to see family, friends, and attend my best friend's wedding. after a quick 4 day visit, we flew to new orleans for 4 days of exploring this new city. we appreciated new orlean's cultural look and history, but were not a huge fan of how touristy it felt and thought the tours were overrated.

dp, rp, sister-in-law, bro

mama, rp, papa... don't you just love their hats?!

oak valley plantation, new orleans as a beautiful backdrop

swamp tour... with a crocodile head eating me

dp and crocodile head as a hat

riding the street car in new orleans

weddings, weddings

these past two weekends have included 2 weddings. my sweet friends got hitched and i was thankful to be able to be a part of both of them. so excited to have 2 friends be on the married wagon :) congrats and love you both.

bye bye silvia, buy buy "rav 4"

this past friday, dp and i made our first new car purchase! we said good bye to our 1998 honda civic named silvia and hello to a 2012 toyota rav 4 (nameless at the moment). we are thrilled with our new purchase and hope that all goes well with it. we are preparing for baby via this purchase so that i can cart baby stuff around easily via the back and also baby is safer (i believe) in a small suv.

Silvia

"Rav 4"

baby on the mind, baby in the belly

dp and i decided early this year that we wanted to start a family... so we got working on it :) blessed are we, we found out we are expecting! i am due november 19th so as of now i am 15 weeks along. we are very excited for the new addition to our family and feel ready. i never thought i'd have a baby at 27, but i guess when you know, you just know... kind of like finding the right partner. thank you everyone for joining in on our excitement!

13 weeks

14 weeks

easter 2012

this year's easter was spent our style. instead of spending time fixing up a glamorous meal (that's expected by society), we went a different route. we had 2 couples over and got to enjoy spring rolls (self-made), an indian appetizer, a vietnamese dish, and some fried rice. it was a nice day out, so we got to eat outdoors and just have good intellectual convos. then we played games. low-key and not a lot of prep time = our type of holiday celebration.

my bday: 4.4.12

totally forgot to mention that i turned 27 on 4.4.12! it was a quiet birthday (by choice). dp and i got to attend our first christian music concert together; we saw third day. it was an exciting experience. next time i'll probably opt for more of a lower key band. third day is rock-type and so it was quite loud. nonetheless, i enjoyed it. on my bday we tried out a new laos/thai restaurant which was yummy. lastly, i was treated to a massage :) everything was all that i wanted, so i was happy.

wall of love

one of my diy projects included putting together a variety of photo frames to create a compilation that worked for our hallway. when you enter our hallway, this is the wall you are faced with. i wanted it to be filled with photos of loved ones and inspirational words. i am happy with the result!