What I have been doing to beat the heat...

This summer I have been doing anything I can to keep cool.  Summers in our city are pretty miserable and I had been warned adequately about them, but I don't think I could ever have been fully prepared.  Of course, being 8 months pregnant doesn't help much either.  The other day, Nate and I decided to go on a walk and wanted to get outside in the early morning, thinking it would be the cooler part of the day.  We live on the 5th floor and do not have the luxury of an elevator, so I was already somewhat winded by the time we made it outside.  We quickly learned that there is no "cooler part of the day" when we were greeted by 98 degree weather before 8:00 a.m.  Not to mention the 75% humidity.  However, I am daily reminded of how thankful I am that our apartment has some form of air-conditioning.  Very few of the apartments or buildings here have central air, each room has its own wall or floor unit.  This is all fine, until I need to leave the nice cool room I am in and travel to another section of the apartment, namely the bathrooms which I tend to visit a lot.  These rooms get no airflow and have no units, so they get pretty hot and stuffy.  Regardless, I am still thankful and opt to spend most of my day sitting in front of the lovely man-made cool breeze with a glass of ice water. 

In addition to keeping cool, much of my time has been spent at my sewing machine.  It was a Birthday gift this past year that I have put to great use.  It has become a creative outlet for me and a way to relax.  My newest source of inspiration has been our son, who will be wearing and enjoying many homemade goodies from me.  One thing that I have loved exploring during our time here is the fabric market.  It is a street filled with fabric vendors, buttons, thread, and many other sewing necessities for dirt cheap.  Pretty much all of the fabric I use is from the fabric market.  I will have to post pictures of the market itself on another day.  It is quite the interesting place.

Here are a few of my most recent creations...

These are some fun blocks I made with scrap fabric, pieces of foam, and fabric paint and stencils.  I hope he has as much fun playing with them as I had making them.

 I was inspired to make these adorable elephants after window shopping at a really ritzy mall in our city.  I came across some cute stuffed animals, but because of the all organic materials used, each animal cost around $80....so I thought..."I can do that" and I did!

I hear that babies drool and spit up a lot and so I have been busy making my own burp cloths.  They have also become fun and easy baby shower gifts.

My newest talent has been learning to appliqué.  Here are a few bibs that were the victim of my appliquéing obsession.  The top two bibs I made, the bottom two I simply embellished.

I can't take credit for the adorable baby model, but my friend Ben is trying out this floor quilt that I made for playtime on our hardwood floors.  I got the log cabin pattern from an old Martha Stewart magazine.  It is my first quilt and I had a lot of fun making it.  This is how I spent many of my bed rest days early on in my pregnancy. 

Last, but not least I have pinterest to thank for teaching me how to make this nursing cover.  

Growing Baby...Growing Belly

Our little boy is getting bigger and bigger everyday.  I know that I have not been good about updating this regularly, but here are a few belly pictures from the last couple of months.  Lately we have been feeling him kick and move quite a bit, which has been fun.

The hot East Asian summer recently hit and with the humidity, the temperature outside has felt like over 110 degrees on some days.  I have been using this as a great excuse to stay indoors and keep cool.  We were recently beyond blessed with an amazing gift of a gym membership for the next year.  It has a really nice pool and so I have been taking full advantage of that.  Swimming around makes me feel weightless and definitely cools off this hot mommy-to-be.

Showered With Love ~

When I found out that I would be spending my pregnancy overseas away from friends and family, I was really sad that I would not get to have a traditional baby shower surrounded by friends and family to celebrate with.  The Lord showed His specific, unconditional love for me by the many friends and co-workers that live in our city.  They were so thoughtful and kind and threw me a wonderful baby shower, complete with food, games, and a cake made out of diapers.  

My friends who planned it knew me well and thought of every detail, including putting floating bath toys in the punch!  They even had the shower at my house so that I didn't have to travel across the city.  Everyone came to me, which was a huge blessing.  I was so touched by their thoughtfulness and especially encouraged during the time we had where everyone gathered around me and prayed for us, my pregnancy, and the life of our son.  I walked away with some great gifts, but more than that, a reminder of how the Lord provides for not only all of my needs, but so many of my desires.  

Here are a few pictures from the day of the shower this past May!

My friend Melinda made this wonderful diaper cake!  Such a fun and useful gift.

 I may have snagged one before the picture was taken....they sure were good!

an Ergo baby carrier....just what we wanted!

I am so thankful for friends who are willing to bathe me and our baby in prayer.