聖誕節快樂！！！

各位家人，親朋好友

祝大家聖誕節快樂！

安德魯合我祝福大家安全和愉快的聖誕，和新年！

這是我們現在的家庭照（木耳寶寶也在場）：

我們也感謝今年有支持，幫助和祝福我們的家人和朋友。

木耳寶寶收到最多的聖誕禮物，還沒出爐就被寵壞了！

今年我們敬仰的長輩安詳的往身了。我最大的遺憾是無法回台看他最後ㄧ面。

感謝媽媽代表我們回去，協助阿公脫離病痛的身軀。

今世可以在阿公的身邊長大，學習他的尊嚴，深沉和穩重的性格是我的榮幸。

再過幾天，家人們會碌碌續續下來看我們。我們非常感謝他們，也迫不及待的等待他們的到來。

以下是我們今天的午餐：

再次祝福大家美滿的聖誕結。

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hope you are all well.

Andrew and I would like to wish you all a very safe and merry Christmas, as well as a very happy New Year.

Here's our family portrait from the three of us (Sophie is a bit hard to spot, but she's there too):

Thank you to all the family and friends who have helped, blessed and supported us this year.  Sophie has so far received the most Christmas presents out of the three of us.  I think she's getting spoilt already and she's not even born yet!

We also feel very blessed to have family coming to visit us after Christmas, and very much look forward to catching up with you all shortly.

Here's our Christmas lunch:

Lemon and Thyme poached turkey breast with gravy, goose fat roasted garlic and potatoes, and steamed asparagus

Strawberry trifle with white chocolate ganache

Dinner will be very light, probably my friend Keane's famous Christmas fruit cake with vanilla bean ice cream!

Love to all, and hope the sun comes out for those of you who are not enjoying as much sun as we are in Wellington!

Letter to Sophie (1)

Dear Sophie,

Your father and I are very blessed to have you enter our lives.

We have been very fortunate to go to the same college, be best friends before getting married, and have the blessing and approval from all our extended families on both sides prior to you announcing your eminent arrival.

Your two grandmothers (and grandfathers - but much more reserved) are absolutely over the moon about you when we told them you were coming.  Grandmother Muir has already bought you clothes and books, and Grandmother  Hsu has promised she will make picture books for you to read.

Your father has been here with me every step of the way since you were just a tiny dot on the ultrasound.  He talks to you every day, lets you kick his hand through my belly, and sings and tells you jokes all the time.  Often, only his hand or his voice can make you stop your kicking, punching, twisting or other shenanigans that you get up to on a daily basis in my belly.

Just to set the record straight (for future insurance if you do turn out to be one of THOSE teenagers...), it hasn't been fun for me these last 7 months, missy!  I have had abdominal muscle tear twice (sent to emergency ward both times), compressed nerves on all four limbs, limited breathing from a non functioning rib cage, Braxton Hicks contractions, low blood pressure/hypoglycemic episodes, sleeplessness, general discomfort, acid reflux, mummy brain... just to name a few.

But... and this is a big BUT - you are and always will be my miracle baby, and totally worth all of this.

Already you are in my thoughts every day.  We have lovely conversations, where I tell you what I'm feeding us, what we have planned for the day etc.  You let me know through your kicks and punches whether another ice cream is a good idea, whether we should have peanut butter or nutella on our toast (or both!).  Most importantly you make me feel less alone, because you and I share everything right now.

Your father and I have just started our ante-natal class last week at the hospital where we'll see you for the first time.  I think you are beginning to dislike the lady taking the class as much as your father and I, because last night, you were kicking very hard and insistently through parts of the class.  Secretly I think your father would have preferred if you kicked the teacher instead!

Anyways, we were being good future parents and trying to learn all the things that mummy can no longer feed you because they are bad (or will potentially, through global capitalism, market competition, lower margins, no-consideration-for-human-consumption-and-health-standards-in-corporations'-drive-for-the-bottom-line, and general human error) for you.  It is quite a long list!  Last night, we learnt about where you will be delivered, and where we will end up after you pop.  They also took us to see where daddy can park the car, how much it will cost, and how not to piss mummy off when you are in the process of coming out.

What I liked about the place where you will come out is this:

a) it is nice and close to where we live, so if daddy decides to drive like a maniac in the middle of the night, at least its a short distance, so not a lot of people will get killed in the process (although our car probably won't be able to make it afterwards...).

b) we have already been there lots of times, and now that we know where to park the car for $10, daddy will not be asking mummy stupid questions like: "Er.. honey, where do I park the car?" while mummy is screaming her head off cos you're tearing me apart.

c) mummy has already met most of the lovely women who will help you come out safely.  They are all very nice and knowledgeable, and you will probably recognise their voices (if you can hear them over my screaming).

d) there's a hot tub!!!  I know how much you like a bath, cos we have one together almost every night!  You'll like this one too, cos the water never goes cold, and daddy will be with us the whole time (no sweetheart, he can't get in with us).

e) there's lots of nice things for mummy i.e.: gas, epidurals, unlimited pain medications etc.

f) once you come out and passes your first assessment, we get to hang out together in another room.  We might get to hang out with another mummy and her baby, or we might get the room to ourselves, where you can do your level best to cry and scream and shit for as long and as loudly as you like to embarrass the hell out of me in front of strangers.

g) lots of experienced specialist on hand to teach us how to feed you, change you, bath you and generally wait on you 24/7 so you stay happy, healthy and live long and prosper like Spok.

h) lovely nurses and staff that will take care of mummy while I take care of you, so I don't have to do any cleaning or cooking - bless!

However, we have lots of homework to do too!  We have to decide on:

* who's going with us to see mummy in pain and daddy in a panic
* whether we want to have medical students there to learn about giving birth to you
* how you 'should' come out ie: vaginal (good 'ol fashioned), elective cesarian (planned sun roof), emergency cesarian (last minute panic induced sun roof)
* how to shut mummy up (drug or drug-free) before and during you coming out
* what we would like for the hospital people to do when everything goes to the dogs
* whether you want to snuggle with mummy and daddy butt naked after you come out
* how mummy would like to deliver your first cuddly toy - the placenta
* how we would like to treat your cuddly toy after mummy delivers it
* if you are not in optimal health, whether we should give you some pain to fix you up (vitamin K)

So you see, you are in pretty safe hands once you graduate from my womb.  I know you'll miss it terribly, and that nothing will seem right for the longest time.  But I'm here to reassure you that it will be an exciting change and it will get much better in time.

Lastly, I'd just like you to not move around so much.  I know you like the exercise, and it is getting quite cramped in there.  But its not very nice for me, and you really don't have to do much to convince us you will be an awesome kick boxer when you grow up!

So hang in there for another 8 weeks little one.  Get as much sleep as you can and we can't wait to see you when you come out.

Love lots,

Mummy