Early gift

Hadn't seen Ian and the family lately, so we went over to Alameda to have Chinese together. We arrived in the late afternoon, and Izumi took me shopping to some used maternity clothes shops. I have a wedding to go to in April and need a dress. And not one that looks like a smock or a potato sack. No luck, but I found one shirt. I was also going to look for slip-on shoes as it's harder to tie my sneakers now, but I wasn't smitten by the designs. Sigh. Do I have to give up on fashion?

Anyway, to my surprise and delight, Ian, Izumi, Julia, and Tyler all presented me with an early b-day gift. Included were several beautiful cards with drawings that were just adorable, but one that I think was of me was pretty scary. I got a Japanese cookbook (yay!), and a matching mother-daughter dress set that Izumi and Julia used to wear (with red converse sneakers). I remember having a matching dress with my mom, and loved wearing it together. Made me feel so connected to my mom.

I especially like a pair of super cute earrings they gave me. There's a cat, fish, duck, dog, turtle, and parrot, all dangling in wild colors. What a hoot!

I also got a little 安産 "anzan", safe-birth protector (the little dog in a box). I'm not quite ready to prepare for birth, but I'll sure keep that little dog close by.

Then we had the most delicious Chinese dinner. I know I keep saying everything is delicious, but Dav, Ian, and Izumi agreed it was indeed very good, so it wasn't just me. It was one of those big Chinese restaurants where every table is a group of 6 or more celebrating some special event. The service was excellent; they even brought out a mango pudding with a candle for me!