Crawling!

So Baby A has started crawling!  Mind you, it's not your cliche, gerber baby crawl.  With one knee up (actually using the foot to move) and the other leg sliding sideways from below, she has a slight reminiscence to Gollum from Lord of the Rings.  :-)  I think it's absolutely funny.  My man would much prefer her to 'crawl like a real baby'.  Although, according to NatGeo's Science Of Babies, there is no normal crawl.  Crawling is rather just a means of getting from one place to the next, until they can walk.  My dear niece, M, did a version of an army crawl.  I'm not sure if her stomach ever left the floor.

Whatever the case, I'm sure walking is not too far behind.  Baby A is always looking for sturdy objects to help pull her to standing, and a good set of guiding hands to help her walk to a toy.

To Sleep Or Not To Sleep

Our sleep/play schedule has been a little off the past couple weeks.  Baby A's learning spurt has also been on the rise (kinda like a growth spurt).  Soo....the few (albeit long) naps we've had have been few and far between...  And with the move, needless to say, I crave every nap she can get in.  Usually, Baby A absolutely HAS to nurse to sleep.  This afternoon, however, I was getting slightly annoyed at her new game of nursing, then crawling around and playing, like she's not tired at all.  There have been a couple previous times I have tried to escape before she falls asleep (to no avail).  Today, I tried it again, and surprisingly it worked!  I walked around the house for about 10 minutes and didn't hear a peep.  I was actually a little worried, so I checked on her, and she was passed out.  :-)

Because of her 2+ hour nap, it took her a little while to start showing signs it was time for bed.  Unfortunately, not even the bedtime routine could make her calm down.  She resisted sleep until around 1030.....(normal bedtime is around 730).  At one point I tried the same method of leaving her to fall asleep on her own.  It didn't work the second time...  In fact, she was actually a bit more clingy than normal, finally falling asleep drooped across my stomach.

I don't really understand what the difference was, as she seemed content for me to leave at nap time.  Maybe she senses that naps are quite short, where bedtime goes for a while.  Or maybe she's becoming afraid of the dark? (Except it wasn't quite dark out when I left the room.)

Who knows.  One day she will be secure enough to fall asleep like a big girl.  Until then, I'm content to have extended downtime with her (even if it's boring or annoying).

Sleep Talking

LOL
Baby A talks in her sleep, just like daddy!
:-D

Weight-loss

This is something I never, ever want to be cynical about: but I simply can Not understand how breastfeeding women have a hard time losing baby weight.  I am quite aware that every body functions differently.  What I don't understand is why my body seems to be on maximum speed, as well as baby A's.  At 8 months, I have already dropped back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and have to fight to make it higher.  I have to eat so much that I get bored and tired of eating.  

Now, on the flip side, I have to fight from considerably loving the fact that I can fit into my old clothes already.  So part of me doesn't really care, until 15 minutes after nursing or Any light exercise when my stomach feels so hungry that it might start eating itself.

As soon as I hit 'publish', I'm heading to get a 2nd serving (after eating a bowl of lo mein/stir-fry and a small plate of pizza).  Yes, I'm still starving.  (There may possibly be a 3rd serving as well!)

Graduation...

...to sitting like a big girl in the stroller!

The jogger still looks like it swallows her alive (we tried once before, right when she was starting to sit up on her own).  :-)  She'll grow into it.

We met up with baby R and mommy at the park today.  Baby R is a few weeks older and has also graduated to sitting forward.  When we took the babies out to play, they got super excited to see each other.  It was so cute!  I doubt they actually recognized each other, as the last time we were able to hang out was almost two months ago.  I love how babies love other babies.  "Hey, you're my size!"

2nd Tooth

It hasn't hatched, yet, but you can see it!!

Attitude-wise, she hasn't been deathly cranky, like last time when we were on vacation.

What she has been, is clingy.  I left her for an hour and a half with my mom, and came back to nonstop tears and begging to be nursed.

I won't deny that it's a nice feeling to be wanted.  But, omg.

Allergies

Oh my goodness...

It's been 10 years since I've gone through Spring season in this part of the world.  Apparently my body has forgotten what the pollen here is like.  So along with my chronic sinus issues, I've been sneezing up a storm.

Life will get a little better once it rains (I'm hoping tonight) and the pollen gets mopped up.

Until then, tissues are my best friend.

Mis-hearing

"Bears eat goats, and goats eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy.  A kid'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"

"Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy.  A kid'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"

This is part of 'Merzidotes' by Session America on the Children's Indie station on Pandora.  (It's a pre-set-up station, if you want to listen to it.)  Except that (starting at the top) these are what I gradually thought the song said.  :-)

These are the real lyrics:

Maresy Dotes and Doesey Dotes And little lamsie divey, A kiddley divey, too, Wouldn't you! Maresy Dotes and Doesey Dotes And little lamsie divey, A kiddley divey, too, Wouldn't you! Now if the words sound queer, And funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey; Well, "mares eat oats" And "does eat oats" And "little lambs eat ivy".

Okay, so the second version I thought was relatively right, just not in the chorus line.

I like bears eating goats.  Is that wrong?

How To Look Good Naked

I discovered this show tonight, both the US and UK versions.

I was a bit surprised at what I found.

I'm terribly in love with British shows and British humor.  However, as much as I loved the British version, I actually liked how the American host handled most situations better.  

What I didn't like about both shows was the comparing bums (trying to make the topic lady's bum look almost the smallest) seems pointless to what the show is trying to do.  I feel for the lady in cue with the biggest bum.  And what happens when the topic lady really does have a huge bum (or midriff)?  Find even larger ladies?...  You can only go so far with that. I prefer the wall of belts approach.  No need to go encroaching on others' self-esteems to make the topic lady feel better.  

I almost gagged at some of the British styles (of dress) they ooed and ahed over.  Wait, I almost did the same for a couple American dresses too.  Am I being too critical?  I'm quite okay with everyone having their own taste in style.  (So it just means I wouldn't wear it.)

I also preferred the American approach to the makeover: much more subtle and easier to replicate at home.

That was some pretty heavy make-up and hairstyling (and fake tanning!) there, Brits.

What I thought was an amazing feature of the Brit show?  Product testing!!

For this, I love you.

No matter the criticism, I'm So Glad they are not nip and tuck shows.

Really, these shows should be more well-known.  As should the concepts they're trying to explain.

Mahna Mahna

I absolutely Love this song :-D

I will give an angry bird sticker to anyone who can tell me who sings this song.

I know half the answer, so I'm partly wondering myself, and am refusing to use my freakish Google skillz to answer for myself.

And I have like 5 sheets of angry bird stickers I need to do something with.

Mahna mahna

Texting

To all my dear friends that have texted me (or even called) in the past week (or year for that matter!)--I'm sorry I haven't replied yet!

Between the move and teething....I'm a lost soul.

I will resurface soon!  (esp. to those who I texted first!)

Honestly, what I need is an app that allows me to do all my texting at night and pre-send them so they arrive the next morning (I do not feel the need to be rude and text people after midnight, or before, unless I happen to know they're working a night shift).

This would also mean that I would need a phone that allowed apps (lol!)

Teething

O

M

G

Teething has officially started.

That probably gives enough info about our week so far.

:-D

Honestly, I could see it being much worse.  Baby A isn't crying so much as babbling and muh-muh-muhing nonstop.  She is obviously in pain, though, and there were two nights (not tonight, thank goodness) where I had to give her acetaminophen to be able to go to sleep.

I'm not really sure what I should expect.  All I knew was that I was terrified for this phase to begin.  I am also incredibly grateful that baby A and I did not fly to join my man at his overseas job training.  If we did, we were planning on leaving today.  Terrible timing.  I'm okay playing this out here.  I know, Not what you were expecting to hear.  But really, would you want to travel with a teething infant?

My man will be back in less than 4 weeks for a visit!!

Please, oh please bring back one of the chargers so I can use the camera again :-)

(the camera on my oh-so-outdated phone is less than gratifying...)

Changing Taste Buds

Baby A's taste for food has been constantly changing.  She is growing pickier every day.  She loves food SO MUCH.  However, the baby food sometimes just doesn't kick it for her.  She actually doesn't care so much for super sweet food, like applesauce.  She loves peas and green beans.  The more fresh or more warm the food, the better.  Even better is when the food comes directly from another person's plate.  And no matter how much she likes the food, please don't give it too more than once or twice in a day: she will refuse it until she forgets she's tried it before.

:-D

She is starting to show signs of teething, but with no teeth yet, I don't feel comfortable giving her super solid food, like whole green beans.  No matter how soft I can get them, they don't dissolve in your mouth. 

HOWEVER, today, we discovered cantaloupe!  Bananas (which make constipation--boo!) and avocados only go so far.  Even though quite sweet, when ripe, it is soft enough for baby A to gum to death.

:-)

Score!

Blast From The Past (Update)

It's amazing what you can find on the internet!

I was browsing through a blog: PRÊT À VOYAGER

When I stumbled across this post about this amazing project.

At the bottom of the post (if you're looking at it!) there is a picture of four little women.

I am currently searching to see if that picture was taken in the mountains of northern Vietnam, because I have totally seen the two women on the left before!!

I'm not going to cry if it's not true and I'm just hallucinating (LOL), but I will be super stoked if it's true!

I will update here for sure!


Update!
Yes, I can almost conclude that those four women were from Vietnam.
This site does not say what part of Vietnam, but their dress and the background indicate the northern mountain tribes.
Yay!  Close enough.
:-)

Those last 5 Lbs

Oh my goodness!!!

At 6 1/2 months after having baby A, I'm finally down to 5lbs above my pre-prego weight!!  And with hip-shrinkage to boot!!

Score!!

I know this may seem like a little dream to many people out there, and, unfortunately, not much of it is muscle (yet!), but it is an Amazing feeling when you can fit back into your loved clothes (and not lose an entire wardrobe).

Move # 4,789

Well, that's a bit of an overstatement...but man, oh man, does it feel like it.

At the end of...let me count...10 days '!', there is still one more load sitting in our old apt.

Not to mention the cleaning supplies, as, yes, the apt. still must be cleaned from top to bottom by this Sunday night.  I am completely in love with my Sabbath hours...hours of relaxation without real work...and of course worship and family/friend time--except that this isn't college where I had only me to worry about.  I can't just run over to the apt. tomorrow night for a few hours and make it a cleaning party. Baby A allows me only so many freedoms these days--one of which means that if i'm trying to do work by myself with her, one hours worth of work can stretch into like 5 or 6 hours.  This is actually why it's taken 10 days to get only most of the move accomplished.  I was able to recruit some friends and family for a little bit of time (between work schedules and nap times), and am incredibly grateful for the help they were able to give.  But man, oh man, I still thought it would take less time than this and I wouldn't be so stressed in the end.

Mmmmmm, I should know better.  I can get stressed over having to decide between doing the dishes or eating (which, of course, creates more dirty dishes) during baby A's nap time (which, on some days, if I'm lucky, can last up to 20 or 30 minutes--in the past couple of weeks she's been Finally starting to nap for up to 2 hours!).  :-D  (This is why I tend to stay up way past being tired so I can have some me-time and hopefully get a few things done.)

I will be soooooooooooo excited for Monday to come---which should hopefully mean that the old apt. will be cleaned out and cleaned up and the keys turned in!

And then on to settling in with mom (for as much as you can settle in with somebody for 4 months).

:-D

One day I'll be able to leave my house somewhere and travel with only a backpack and a tent or a suitcase and a carry-on.  :-)

I Love H2O2!

I learned a tip from my dad a few weeks ago: Hydrogen Peroxide is a stain remover.

What?!  I am nearly 30 years old.  How am I just now learning about this??

H2O2 has become a life savor!

The #1 stain I have to clean?  Bananas...  I never would have imagined that bananas would be my worst nightmare.  That yellowish-clear slime that comes from smashed bananas, very quickly turns into brown goo before it dries.  The shelf-life of bananas (and avocados) should be longer (in a perfect life).

So until that perfect life, H2O2 will be my new BFF.

LOL

Ooo! If you're also a mom (and if you're not!), check out this website for more ideas of what to do with H2O2 and other green chemicals (and you can enroll to win some green products of your own!).  

First Signs

I know it can be hard to tell what or even if a baby is signing, well, anything, but tonight baby A gave the definite sign for milk!

I am so completely stoked!  It's not the first sign she's 'made', but it's a pretty important sign.

I'm praying super hard that she will keep using it.

It makes life so much simpler when you can communicate.  :-)

Sitting Up

Oo! Oo!

So baby A has been sitting up better (on her own!) without toppling over!

She can't pull herself up to a sitting position, yet (obviously), but if I set her down, now she stays!

I'm super excited, because the more she sits up (and rolls over), the more she can do more things by herself!  This frees me up to get more things done around the house. (Yes!)

(Maybe soon she'll start crawling!  For those who may think this will make things worse, I challenge you to watch baby A from sunrise to sunset.  See how much you get done around my house, then we'll talk.)

Zeitgeist

Okay, so I normally try to keep my posts politics-free, but right now I'm "watching" Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qe03mYVfmg&feature=fvsr

...if you so desire.

I quoted the 'watching' as I stopped really listening to it a while ago (it's 2 hours and 40 something minutes!  I'm a multi-tasker.  I don't have that kind of attention-span.  LOLOL  I like my oxymorons...)  I also stopped listening because I started becoming wary of the topic at hand.  (Very well-rounded criticism I can give now. LOLOL)  

I actually liked the beginning of the video, esp. the intro part about the kid playing a game with grandma and the neurological science used to ascertain how humans change according to their environment (more than how genes affect humans).  And then....it started digging itself into a hole, and I started fading out.

It's very informative of one way of thinking about how a society should live and work.

Right now, it seems more like a 'perfect' society that works in theory, not necessarily in real life.

(...isn't Communism a little like that?...)

I need to do more research....

Move # 438 (ish), Part 1

Once again, we are moving.

This is the story of my life. (for the past 15 years--the first 15 years were almost firmly grounded into one house.)

Also, like many of my moves, this is a temporary one; a few months to stay with Mama.

It will be Very nice when my man gets back and we can get into a new place, that maybe we can furnish and call home for a little bit.

So, M, I and I (LOL....) started the moving process this morning (and it will be a long process...you can only leave kids and jobs and errands and etc. for so long) at Mama's.  We had to dump a mattress set, before I found out at work that a local shelter's thrift store may have actually taken it to sell.  Apparently bed bugs have become such a problem that most thrift stores won't take used mattresses anymore.  Sadness.

We finally made it back to my place to move over my furniture.  As soon as we had the major pieces prepared and started taking them out to the truck (open bed, no tarp), it started to rain.  Awesome.  We garbage bagged the chairs and blanketed the table and left the mattress behind, thankful that at least it started to rain before we left, and not after (or I'd have some very nice, very ruined furniture).

Tomorrow, we're praying for at least about 30 minutes of clear skies (or at least not rainy ones), so we can finish the next step of the move.

Please pray for us too!!

Drama Queen

Today was baby A's 6-month check-up.  Along with check-ups come vaccinations.  And taking temperatures through the tush.  And getting weighed.

Now, baby A's never cared for their way of taking temps, but she has dealt with it okay.

Today, maybe she just needed more sleep last night, but she freaked out during temp-time.  Then got mad when laid on the scale.  She wiggled so much that we couldn't get an accurate read until she calmed down a little.  She was pretty much only consoled as long as I held her.

Anytime I put her down, anywhere, she would instantly start screaming.

The shots were obviously the biggest deal.

After I got her dressed to leave, I took off my sweatshirt, and she started crying more.  I just hope she didn't think it was my time for shots... :-(

Poor thing...

She took a couple good naps later today, thank goodness.

Life is amazing after a nap.  :-)

(Not so much queen drama!)

Foot Fetish

I know it sounds incredibly gross, but I think it's terribly adorable when babies chew on their feet.

Baby A has finally started sucking feet!!!!!!

I'm sure it's mostly my fault.  :-)

I play with her feet and guide her feet that way when cleaning her nappy area.

This past week, she's been pulling them closer herself, and in the past couple of days has started chewing on them.  Even when they're clad with socks.

A couple of weeks ago I found the cutest little pair of crocs for her. (now I'm not really into baby shoes--as baby A tends to kick them off within seconds of putting them on, but I couldn't resist--and these stay on relatively well)  Apparently baby A is fond of the crocs as well, as whenever she wears them, she attacks them with force (with her hands and mouth).

I think my little foot fetish-er is cute  :-)

Take It Off The Bookshelf!

I have started a new blog page!
You will notice this to the left of this post.  :-)
I started accepting free books from Bethany House Publishers a few months ago,
(they send me books for free and all I have to for payment is write a review and post it a couple of key places),
and have finally finished one of them in order to write the review.
Yay!
I will post more reviews than just the books I receive from Bethany House, but I figured that this book was a good book to start with.
So, after a little rearranging, voila!
You may peruse and comment as you wish.

Happy Readings!

Anti-Social

As much as baby A LOVES to be social, there are just some times that she does not.

Who can blame her? There are times I'd rather be home in sweats than out having look my best and chat it up with strangers (which she does on a daily basis).

We went to watch cousin M's ballet recital today.  Go M!

All went well until 2 minutes into the first performance (a good 3 performances before M's group was on).

Baby A was little keen on the darkness of the concert hall, and more upset by the loud music.

The amount of time it took to calm her down outside, one would have thought a ghost had frightened her or maybe that she was teething.

Whatever the reason, we sat the rest of the performances outside the hall, and sometimes outside the building.

Yay! for being smart to carpool, so that I couldn't leave and instead entertain a cranky baby for 30ish minutes.  This may seem little time for you...I handle cranky minutes all day, and have many tricks up my sleeve already...most of them laying at home...or in the bag I left beside my dad back in the concert hall...which also held my phone.

:-D

Oh well, lesson learned.

No more concert halls.

This goes on the list along with no more: eating sit-down in restaurants, leaving baby A with others for more than 2 hours, eating/drinking caffeine past noon, wearing hair down, ...etc.

Socialize Till You Drop

Baby A is a socialite.  There is no denying it.

When I finally pried her out of bed at 8:30 this morning, she went almost non-stop until bedtime (19:30).

There were a couple of 5 minute naps in the car, maybe 2 minutes more at auntie L's, and say 30 minutes more at home.

In between these naps?  We jogged with miss L and little O.  We met up with some mommy's for a 2hr-ish play-date.  We hung out with auntie L, uncle D, and cousins X and M.  We cleaned up a little around the house, ate dinner, had some mommy-and-me time, and took our night-night bath.

I'm exhausted. (granted this is a few hours later---my 'me' time)

I honestly don't know how she lasted so long.

I tried to help her sleep a couple times.  And she usually naps in the jogging stroller.

No more naps around friends.

Friends are interesting.

Friends are fun to play with.  Grab at.  Blow bubbles at.  Giggle and coo at.

I think maybe tomorrow I may need a nap though, then maybe we can play the game of 'see who can sleep the longest'.

Gloating

I don't normally like to gloat.  However, having a baby has made me proud on numerous occasions.

Today, a lady told me that baby A seemed very alert.  She actually thought that baby A was 9 or 10 months old.  She's only 6 months.  :-)

That's my social butterfly, baby A.

gDiapers

So I had my first cloth diapering meet up.

:-D

I heart gDiapers!

My dear friend M and her little baby A (same name as my baby A! just spelled differently, and about 4 months younger) have decided to give cloth diapering a go.

Now, I'm no expert in cloth diapering.  I'm learning as we're going.  And every day is a new learning experience.  :-)

BUT, so far, I love it.

Every family has diapers that work best for them (and it could possibly be disposables!).  I am under the firm belief that cloth diapers work best when you have the style that fits your family best.  GDiapers fit our family amazingly.  (I believe I've raved about them before, so I won't go on.  But if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask!)

Dear M was very curious about cloth diapers in general and more specifically in gDiapers (when I showed baby A's to her).  I sent her home with our entire stash of small gDiapers as well as a couple other styles baby A has grown out of (always best to experiment!).

Here's to dear M and family finding what works best for them!

My camera still doesn't work, so this isn't my baby A-but still a cute pic!

4 Month Check-up

Baby A had her check-up today, and man was she a trooper!

Well...even with the initial crying with the immunizations, she got over it and was her smiling self in no time.  :-)

She's always a total hit with the nurses, kind of like those baby boys that everyone says will break women's hearts. LOL

At least she knows how to charm people into smiling.  :-D

Man, and she's a big one.  Only 4 months, and she's 26 inches long.  She's not fat by any means, but mommy's milk is definitely acting like steroids.  :-D

I'm not a bragger...but today, I'll be proud.  :-)

Girl Stewie

Besides calling her the Demon Child (because she's so incredibly sweet!), my man has also labeled baby A as the girl version of Stewie.  Really, though, she is.  Well, it seems, sometimes....

Reason for claim to fame?  She literally scratched out part of my eye.  She was sick, granted.  We had just tried snuffing saline drops up her nose and suctioning the residue, true.  Anyone would hate that.  She swung her arms violently.  A mad woman!  My eyelids did not react fast enough, and then one of her fingernails took out, what the optometrist said was, the largest chunk of eye he'd ever seen.

In reality, there are something like four or five layers to your eye (I am not an eye expert).  Baby A sunk through the 1st layer, stopped when she hit the 2nd layer (which is incredibly tough, like teflon or something), and scooped across.  From the picture he took, it looked like the entire bottom-nose corner of my eye was missing.  Fortunately, the iris was spared.

I should have asked for the picture of my eye.  It was really cool!

(I was that little girl who liked to dig in dirt and collect worms with the boys.)

It's taken a week or so for the soreness and inflammation to fully go away, but it barely took three days to heal enough so they could take the contact bandage off.  Go eye!  

The optometrist also said that they see people all the time for scratches from babies and dogs...and sometimes cats and mascara wands.  :-)

I shouldn't laugh...

...I learned my lesson.

More Change

Wow, I have not kept up with my posts very well.

All this change keeps throwing me off, not to mention being sick for about a week and then having part of my eye scratched out by my loving daughter :-D  (more about that later)

Today my man left on his new voyage--training in Germany.

We're hoping to join him soon (more change!).

One day we'll settle down....

....one day :-)

Diaper Bag!

I was given the idea this week to go through my diaper bag and spill the contents--so I can report to other mothers/mothers-to-be what I carry--to exchange ideas.

(I am on another computer without my pictures...when I can get my computer back online, I will try to post the pictures of my bags.)

So, here is my diaper bag.

Well, the two of them.

Currently, I'm using a small day-backpacking backpack.  The larger messenger-style bag does get carried on occasion, but I found I fill it up too much.  It can get really heavy, and I have lost many things in its vast depths.

So, I'll start with the backpack.

Inside the main pocket, I carry two smaller pockets; one for extra clothing (two onesies, one pair of pants, two pairs of socks), one for emergency needs (alcohol swabs, nail clippers, etc.).  I also stuff my nursing cover and any extra items in this pocket.

In the open pocket I stack a travel changing pad (with wipes and extra gdiaper plastic pockets/disposable diapers), a larger pocket with cloth diaper inserts, and a wet bag.  Sometimes, I also put my personal nail file and extra disposable diapers/swimmers in this pocket.

In the smaller front pocket, I carry baby-safe hand lotion, baby bum lotion, an extra set of keys, two extra gdiapers, and extra items as I see fit.

In the small outer pocket on the front, I carry a pair of socks (these usually get worn as gloves if it's cold, or if baby A starts scratching herself).  I also stuff the car keys and/or cell in this pocket when out.

In the water pack compartment on the back (using an actual water pack might be nice...) I stick extra cloth diaper inserts.

In the cinches along the sides, I roll up a blanket and a sling (baby carrier), and put one on each side.  If the wet bag gets too big (or if I have to use a plastic walmart bag), I'll tie it to one of the cinches.

In the elastic straps on the main straps, I pull a burp rag through at least one.

If you can't tell, I'm an organization freak...

The larger diaper bag tends to get very disorganized--although I have more individual pockets for the many random items now, that going back to it may be easier.  The one nice thing about the larger diaper bag, is there is a computer sleeve, which I use for papers picked up at the pediatricians office.  It also has more pockets, which I use for things like hand sanitizer and and small first aid kit (with band-aids, etc.).

Et, la.

I hope this has given you a few ideas.  If you have any ideas of your own, please feel free to share!

1st Museum Tour

Yay! for free first Sundays at the Hunter Museum!

Mom and I took baby A there for her first introduction to the world of art.

Oh believe you me, there will be many more :-)

Already a people watcher, she was in heaven (as long as we kept moving).

Not to mention all the 'pictures' to look at (she tended to like the more colorful ones, of course).

She just chilled in the swing, gnawing on either one of her hands or the swing (slobber everywhere!).

She was so content that one of the curators was fascinated by her, saying she was the most well-behaved baby she'd ever seen.

I'd like to invite her to my house around nap time--or anywhere around nap time.

Need of sleep can make a child not-so-content.

But, yes, I was so super proud of how well she did in a museum setting.

I'd like to hope that that behavior will stick.

:-D

Squeals

Baby A found her vocal cords several weeks ago--which is really cool.
Until this past week or so when she's been discovering how high her vocal cords can go.
Our ears hurt.
lol
Oh man, this gets better, right????

Toys With Batteries...

...can be really annoying to fix.

I am well aware of the safety features of screwing batteries in hard to reach places.

But ........... they make me want to say not-so-nice things sometimes.

Baby A's walker has a sound toy that needs its sound to work.

I've been putting it off for ages...because I have to go find the screwdriver, take part of the tray apart, and then put it back together after switching batteries (not to mention we were out of batteries-but not much of an incentive to hurry and buy them).

It's finally done, though not without getting battery shavings in my eye from having to lie on my back under the walker and dig the batteries out with the screwdriver (at a very awkward angle).

(I should think that would be a safety hazard to the parent...)

Oye vay

Happy Sabbath!

Baby A

Sign Language

So, we've been using a few signs with baby A throughout the day, in correlation with the given task/action.  We know that cognitively, she's not supposed to really understand what we're doing until about 4 months, and not be physically able to respond the hand gestures until about 6-9 months.

However, in the past couple of weeks, baby A has started showing signs that she kinda knew what was going on with some of the hand signals.  Earlier this week, I started testing her on these, and it really seemed like she was responding like she did know what I was trying to say.  I did feel like an idiot, thinking that she really understood, and that maybe it was all just coincidence (and still do!).  But seriously, I swear her smiles/non-smiles were based on understanding.

And then today came.

We were heading out to take a walk with some friends.  Baby A started fussing and seemed very adamant that something was wrong.  I laid her down and sign/asked if her diaper was dirty (one of the signs we'd been working on a lot).  Seeming frustrated she threw her hands out and kicked, and then brought one hand back in and made what really looked like the sign for 'dirty'.  I kinda freaked out for a second, cause I was pretty sure I was seeing things.  But I checked her diaper, just in case, and it was wet.

(note: we use cloth diapers, not so easy to tell if they're wet by just feeing the outside of the pants/diaper)

But, dude!

Of course I feel a bit insane for thinking she really made a hand sign.

We will definitely be trying again (next time she may have a dirty diaper) to see if she's really picked up on it.

:-D

21st Century Baby

My sis, M, and I keep talking about how our kids will never know what it's like to live without technology like the computer, the Wii, interactive touch screens like on the iPad...

I remember watching shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood when I was little.  Everyone did.  Now, they are soooooo sloooooowww.  I try showing them to baby A (entertainment while I clean, get ready, etc.)  She likes them, thank goodness, (she hates Baby Einstein...), but she is incredibly captivated by cartoons...and other programs M and I pull up on the computer/iPad.  Her latest muse is the CareBears.  Which have been around for a bit.  But anytime we are near a room with a t.v. on, her eyes are glued to it...especially if a cartoon is playing.  M's son, little X, was watching Dexter's Laboratory (i think) the other day, and I think it kinda scared baby A, but she kept turning her head to see the screen.

I am very glad she is beginning to take a real interest in her toys, so it takes interest away from the t.v./computer screen.  I am looking forward to her being able to really play with toys so I don't have to resort to playing movies when I need to take a shower/wash the dishes/cook dinner/etc.  Until then, I'll keep singing the Babar theme song.  :-)

Playing online baby games

Making Friends

We went swimming today (2nd time!) and had a super blast!

(again, no pictures, sorry!)

We met up with another mom&kids from one of the mother-groups in town.  She had a daughter, baby AJ, a few months older than baby A.  Honestly, I wasn't really expecting that much--baby A is usually on the friendly side, but other babies her age ten to be just curious.  But they totally took to each other!  It was super cute!  Baby AJ kept petting baby A, who loved it, and eventually they were sharing my thumb to chew on, passing it back and forth.  Definitely camera-worthy  :-(  I'll have to start looking into water cameras :-)

Probably one of the funniest things about taking baby A swimming, in general, is watching all the older women in the locker room coo over baby A.  They think she's the cutest thing in her swimsuit and the cutest thing that she's going swimming, and the cutest thing when she smiles back.  I think it's cute when they coo too lol

I'll get some photos on here soon, I promise!!

Yay! for Bollywood!

I just finished watching My Name Is Khan.

Wow.

A little on the cheesy side--but a tear-jerker, and an eye-opener.

One of my sisters had told me that it was really good.  I don't remember her telling me exactly what it was about though--but that's my brain these days.  It's the post 9/11 movie I've been dying to see.  I've kinda been waiting for one with this message to come out, and just didn't realize that it already was.  My heart breaks for Muslims in America.  Though relatively mostly Christian, we seem to base our judgements on looks.  What we see first.  Most Americans cannot distinguish between people of different ethnic backgrounds.  Asians are the most noted, where most Americans used to consider everyone Chinese.  Thankfully that is waining.  However, those from the Middle East are now being lumped into mis-cadigoration.  The worst part for Middle Easterners, a large portion of Muslims don't even come from the Middle East.  They come from the South Pacific.  Indonesia.  Malaysia.  And many also come from various countries in Africa (the largest population of people to be mis-categorized--by Westerners--we cannot distinguish anything about that continent and have labeled the entire continent as one country...aside from Egypt and sometimes South Africa and Morocco).

My point, though, is not that we're mis-categorizing who is Muslim and who is not; we are not paying attention to the Muslim religion itself.  Or to the people to practice it.  This is what the movie is trying to convey.  An Indian man, practicing Muslim is no more a terrorist than a one who practices Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity.  What makes a terrorist are the fundamentalist ideas and the 'need' for violent revenge.  Christianity has had its own terrorists, posing threats on other Christians.  There are several forms of Christian fundamentalists, some of which we pay attention to, most of which we deem ugly.  I'm quite sure the KKK can be labeled as a Christian fundamentalists.  And just as an American has a hard time telling an Indian from a Pakistani, we also have a hard time telling a Catholic from a protestant, a Baptist from an Episcopalian, a Morman from a fundamentalist Morman (one fundamentalist belief is that they prefer to believe in polygamy, not most of the Morman church), an Adventist from a cult member (that's an Adventist joke).

You can't tell them apart.  In the end, you have to rely on your 'good' judgement to watch their behaviors.  Personally, if I had to choose between two babysitters for my baby A, and one was a kind Christian and the other a selfish Muslim, I would choose the Christian.  Or, if one was a Christian bigot who angered easily and the other a kind Muslim who treated others with respect, I would choose the Muslim.  And yes, just as this movie portrays, they exist.  

I'm well aware that being under threat, as we unfortunately are, you must use extra precautions.  However, it seems that a lot of the threat is really built up paranoia from the media and social inspirations (or from our imaginations).

I only wish that a story like this was real (aside from a boy dying).  At least the movie is a step towards social knowledge, as long as the story gets out.

This is one movie I will ask my friends and family to see.

No-nos

I've known for quite some time that certain foods affect a nursing baby.
I've done very good at staying away from coffee.
I learned quickly that even a cup of hot chocolate can give a baby a decent amount of energy.
Except for the night of the hot chocolate, we haven't had any issues getting baby A to sleep at night.
Tonight...we learned that my go-to Luna bars also contain enough energy to give...energy...
Especially when my favorite is the peppermint chocolate...
How I missed it....I'll blame it on prego brain...
I also usually eat them early on in the day--evening is obviously Not a good idea.
Note taken.

First Swimming Pool

baby A went swimming (in a real pool, not the bath tub) last friday
:-D
(i really need to start taking more pictures...)
she's in love with bath time, and we thought she'd love the pool just as much--especially since we'd be able to move her around in the water a bit more
the massive amount of water i think was a bit daunting for her...but overall she loved it
was very content to lounge in my arms and chew her fingers and watch her cousins play in the water
she didn't kick around as much as she does in the bath, but loved it when i flipped her on her stomach...
...and stuck her tongue in the water, licked her tongue, and wanted more...

we're going again this week--the more she goes, the more used to it she will be, the more fun she/we will have
:-D

Combinations

thumb
index finger
thumb, index finger
thumb, index finger, middle finger
index finger, middle finger, ring finger
clinched fist
double clinched fists

baby A's trying to decide which fingers she like sucking on the most
maybe one day she'll stick to one (set) of finger(s)
or maybe decide fingers just aren't for her
(just like the bobos aren't-----bobos are pacifiers around my family)

poor baby :-(

baby A had boosters today
poor thing, i'm not sure i've seen her cry like that :-(
as soon as she stopped crying, she started again...
she finally fell asleep...
now is for hoping she has no reactions and the pain has faded by the time she wakes up

m.i.a.

oye vay!
so sorry it's been so long since i've written!
holiday season was extended holiday season this year...
and we still have one more holiday to go :-D
LUNAR NEW YEAR!
Chúc mừng năm mới!
less than a week to go!