A Little Goodbye

If I wasn't 38 weeks pregnant and having irregular contractions, I'd probably be making my way up to Nor Cal right about now.

When I was pregnant with Bear, one of my hopes was that she would get to meet her great great grandma (or "big big ma ma" as she called her)...I just thought, "how neat would it be for all five generations to be together in one room...how precious it would be." So they met, and although Bear probably won't remember...and her great great grandma wasn't even sure who we all were...it was still a sweet moment where we could capture the 5 generations in a photo op.

About an hour ago I heard the news that my kun halmoni passed away. I wish I could be there to say goodbye...Instead this will have to do.



We'll miss you kun halmoni and "big big ma ma."

Hard, Easy, Hard, Easy...

No, I'm not writing about eggs...

A couple nights ago a father of four told me that in his experience (and also comparing with some other parents that he knew) the first child is always hard, the second is easier (emphasis on "er"), the third is again hard, and then the fourth is easy.

I thought about that for a while and then I wondered, "Is Bear hard or easy to raise?" We know the answer is "hard" but apparently appearances can be deceiving. We've heard way too often about how Bear seems so easy...ha ha ha...that's funny.

But if Bear is an easy child to raise and we've just been overdramatizing everything in our heads, then does that mean we are going to give birth to a little hellraiser in a couple of weeks? I don't know if we are ready for that.

Two Years and a Thank You

I realized the other day that our blog is coming upon 2 years now...and what once started as a place I could just express myself while being trapped at home with a newborn has now become a glimpse into the world that we like to call "our family."

First off, just wanted to send out a little "thanks" to all of you readers out there whoever you are. Whether you are friend, family or friends of the friends and family, we appreciate your visit to our humble little site that mostly revolves around one silly little girl.

Just for fun, I thought I'd provide links to some of our favorite moments in the past 2 years...

Why Bear cried during bathtime (9-11-2007)
Why you should never leave a child unattended with yogurt (4-17-07)
Why Matt wonders where his genes went (3-2-07)
Why Daddy was saying "Doh"(12-22-06)
Why 11 month olds shouldn't play with fruit(11-12-06)
How Kids pick things up so easily when you're not there(7-9-06)

Stay tuned...I'm quite sure more stories and laughs are to come.

Christmas Wrap-Up

Sometimes I wonder if Bear will remember any of these moments. My earliest memory was when I was 3 years old and my sister was born...Perhaps it's ingrained in my memory because it was such a happy (er...traumatic) moment in my life. My brother once recalled a moment when he was 2. I've heard that (although rare) some people actually remember being in their cribs watching their mobiles. Spooky. Whatever the case may be, I still wonder how much Bear is impacted by all of these moments in her life.

Christmas

We spent Christmas with Matt's family in Sacramento this year. It was nice. Bear had a great time eating and of course, opening presents (Abre Peh-sent?). As I've been heading towards immobility, it was nice having lots of family around to care for and entertain Bear. Being as inquisitive as she is, Bear followed Grandma and Grandpa around constantly asking, "What doing?"

After Christmas

For Bear's birthday we headed West and visited my side of the family. Bear continued to eat and open presents. We went to this pizza place in Berkeley called Zachary's. For those of you who have never been, their pizza is a serious deep dish pizza. I could only manage one slice. Bear meanwhile ate about half a salad and almost 2 pieces of pizza. Amazing.

Fun Being 2

Bear rode a carousel for the first time. I couldn't tell if she was enjoying it while she was riding it, but after she got off she promptly told me "Dun (Fun)."

I think throughout our week in Nor Cal, I enjoyed most watching Bear take in all of her surroundings. We took walks in Sacramento where she was fascinated with leaves and rocks and grass. Visiting her Great Grandma she enjoyed opening all the cabinets and finding "treasures" here and there. Even when it was just so cold Bear was running around in her blue parka on the grass or she was watching the rainfall. We even had an engrossing conversation about "poo" when she asked about the brown turd on the car window (B: Bir poo poo? Me: Yes, all animals poo poo. [later in the conversation] B: Tanta poo poo? Me: Does Santa poo poo? Uh, I don't know.).



Going Home

This year we didn't have to stuff a 4 foot pink pony into our car...but if anyone looked in our trunk they would have thought that we were building an altar for Dora the Explorer (Dora clothes, Dora games, Dora books, Dora bandages?). I guess brand marketing worked on this family.

After a week Matt and I were exhausted...on the other hand, Bear was revved up and even more of a conversationalist than when we arrived. Seven hours (of toddler conversation) later we arrived home and rang in the New Year by falling asleep.

Ah, good times.


Bear's 1st Christmas Gift of 2007 from her mom and dad

Why I Can't Count...

Someone asked me about a month ago how far along I was in this pregnancy. I thought about it, but was really puzzled because I had absolutely no clue. I just answered, "I don't know...somewhere in the 3rd trimester, I think?"

I just can't count the weeks this time around. I actually signed up at Babycenter for weekly emails to tell me how far along I am. Otherwise, I have to grab others who are pregnant (and counting) so I can somehow figure out where I am compared to them.

Honestly there's a lot of things I don't know about this pregnancy. We still don't know the gender of the baby (not without lack of trying). I haven't really read any books to prepare for this baby. I don't even know if we have everything we need for this baby. Perhaps I should at least pack my bag for the hospital.

Sometimes I feel as if I should have more anxiety than I presently do...especially since so many people give me a nervous look and say, "You're due in February? I don't think you're going to make it to February." And yet, I look at the toys spilled all over our floor and I feel more compelled to get that cleaned up rather than think about the future (which is quickly approaching).

So I will just enjoy sitting with Bear and watch her take in the world around her. She's even started counting objects on her own (one, two, fee, door, dive, tix, eben, eight, nine, twendy!) Perhaps I'll have her keep track of this pregnancy for me.

The Best Day of the Year?

I overheard Matt explaining to Bear this morning that today (Jan 1st) is the "best day of the year." He said, "you can watch football all day!" Bear just responded by asking for more juice.

My only thought though is what happened to the names of all the beloved bowl games? Seriously, what is a "Chick-Fil-A" Bowl? Or even better..."Capital One" Bowl? Okay, so I'm not going to watch any of these bowl games, but I just had to ask.