Our Super Trooper...

Last weekend was busy...

Seven hours in the car and we found ourselves in my hubby's hometown. We spent some time with Baby Bear's grandparents. We took out some time to also visit her 3 great-grandmas and a grand aunt (all separately). Towards the end of the weekend we managed to see some good friends and then packed ourselves back up for another 7-hour car ride home.

I was pooped.

Surprisingly, Baby Bear went through the whole weekend with a smile on her face. She enjoyed every moment and won over all the relatives with her charm. I felt bad throwing her into her car seat over and over again, but she seemed to take it all in stride.

What a super trooper.

She also picked up some interesting things on our trip...

She loved crawling under my in-laws coffee table. When I tried to pull her out, she would laugh and crawl away as fast as she possibly could. I didn't quite understand the fun of being under the coffee table, until Matt pointed out some drawings of his on the underside of the table from his childhood.

Great-grandma got a kick out of Baby Bear's talent at feet-sucking. Because great-grandma kept laughing, Baby Bear continued to suck her foot on purpose. What a ham!

Apparently, she's become quite the conversationalist. I'm not sure what she was telling my grandma in this picture, but she loved having a captive audience.

She's our super trooper.

Independence

Throughout our lives we slowly gain our independence, until one day we are on our own. As a baby I placed dependence on my mom and dad for nourishment, to pick me up and carry me places, and to change my diapers and keep me clean. As a child I depended on others for help understanding difficult things in life, to care for me when I was sick, to carry my burdens when I got tired. As a teen I depended on my parents for transportation, for funds, and for permission to attend certain events. Even in college, I was still dependent on my parents for at least a place I could call home and return on weekends and holidays. It was a twenty-something year process of slowly gaining my independence.

These days, I see the process already begun in Baby Bear. She won't let me feed her meals with a spoon anymore (She slaps my hand away when I try). I have to just chop up foods and leave it on her tray for her. I leave her a cup and her food. She happily feeds herself and sips her water.

She sits up, crawls around and happily plays on our livingroom floor. Even when she wakes up in the morning, she crawls over to her toys and keeps herself entertained. At naptimes, she takes her doll, sucks on her finger and falls asleep in her crib without rocking, without patting her.

9 months old and she's already exercising her independence.

Today, I brought her into our bed after she woke up. She crawled up to my side, doll in one hand and finger in her mouth, she lay down with her head on my arm. So I hugged her, and there she stayed until she fell asleep.

I'm glad she still needs me. I'm not ready to let her go just yet.

>

Hmmmm...

Do all babies do this? That is, do all babies smile with their mouths open?







Just curious, that's all...

Temper Temper...

I think Baby Bear just threw a temper tantrum.

I was feeding her breakfast (peaches and oatmeal), and in between bites she started to cry out at me and slap her table. I had no clue why she was doing that. Then she started yelling at me, slapping her table and pushing the spoon away from her whenever I came near. I gave up and I put her food down to wipe her face, but she started crying louder and started violently rocking in her chair. I was so confused.

So there I am just watching Baby Bear crying angrily (tears and snot!) in between rocking in her chair and slapping her table.

I just waited it out. What could I do?

When she finally calmed down, she made a noise, motioned towards the Cheerios box and then slapped her table. Apparently, she didn't want peaches and oatmeal. She wanted Cheerios.

Sheesh. She could have just said so.

Friends...

I have some wonderful friends. Some I have known only for a short while, some I have known since before I learned to walk. They are artists, businessmen (and women), doctors, lawyers, teachers, and more. They are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers. They are funny, serious, thoughtful, and lighthearted. They love their jobs, they hate their jobs, they dream about other jobs. We became friends in elementary school, or perhaps I met them in college. They've seen me change, and they've caused me to change. Some are blood-related, some are so close I call them family anyway.

I have some wonderful friends.

As I watch Baby Bear grow and change, it means so much to me that there are other kids around her age for her to grow up with. Some of them will become her dearest and valued friends.

As they grow, they will learn patience, responsibility, helping each other, cherishing each other, and supporting one another.

Baby Bear will have some wonderful friends.

Lost Art of Conversation

A couple weekends ago, Baby Bear and I went to Hazelnuut's birthday party. I realized while I was there that I have lost the ability to converse with adults. Okay, so I'm not the most outgoing person, and I'm terrible when it comes to small talk. I just felt like I had nothing to talk about with anyone. It's not a bad thing, I just didn't know how to talk to regular adults anymore. All those years of practice, and I lost it in a few short months.

I don't want to be one of those moms who always start conversations with, "My baby did the cutest thing today..." I love my Baby Bear, but I try not to be a gusher. So naturally, I don't bring up Baby Bear as my conversation initiator. Unfortunately, when you're carrying an 8-month old around who loves social events, she initiates the conversation herself.

But then, what else is there to talk about besides Baby Bear these days? Not much. She is so integrated into my life that she basically is my whole day. People don't really ask me how I'm doing these days. It doesn't bother me. I don't have much going on, so even if they ask, my response would be short and boring.

I was listening though...People were talking about their jobs, their marriages, their friends, their schooling, trips that they took or were going to take, moving plans, future plans, etc. I felt I had nothing of value to add to the conversation. So I just listened.

I guess that's just what I do best. So forgive me if I don't have much to say, but I'll definitely be waiting to hear what you have to say.

Staying Put...

So we decided to stay put. We're not planning on moving anytime soon, despite the woes we have mentioned about our apartment. What happened? I came to the realization that it's not that bad.

Sure, we have noisy neighbors. Yes, we still have cracks in the ceiling from the leak. No, we did not get rid of the fleas (although we're working on it). We also have some sort of sewage smell coming from under the apartment (found out there are leaking pipes - yuck! - but will be fixed Wednesday).

Change of heart? Perhaps. As we searched for apartments, we found a couple that we really liked and even started filling out the paperwork. The cost would have been a bit more, but I thought "it's worth it, because nothing can be worse than this place."

A couple of weeks ago we had new neighbors move into one of the apartments upstairs. As they were emptying their moving truck of belongings, I heard the mother yelling at her son, "Don't hang out there like that! This is a better neighborhood and you shouldn't be doing that anymore."

Reality check.

So I thought about it. Was it worth moving? Is my desire to move just out of selfishness? Are those things that annoy me about this place really that bad? Have I just over dramatized it in my head because I'm home all day?

So I came to the realization that maybe we should stick around here for a little while longer. Instead of spending the money each month for a higher rent, why don't we save more? Perhaps, I should take ownership in our apartment and try to clean it up? Maybe I should stop being such a priss and work harder to make this a livable environment for my family.

So that's what we're doing. We're staying put.

Trial and Error

One of the things that I wish I did a little bit more before becoming a parent was to do more research...Ask some more questions from experienced parents...get some ideas on how to be a more resourceful mom. I guess those months before Baby Bear arrived was a whirlwind, and I just didn't have the time (or the energy) to sit down and get a little bit more information.

I feel like I've been sucked into the chaotic consumer-driven world of places like Babies R Us. I can't tell you how many times I've walked down those aisles and thought, "hmmmm, maybe we should consider getting one of those." There are so many things that one child just does not need. I can name a few things already in our household that Baby Bear has touched maybe once or twice in her lifetime. Yet, we have them stored for those "just in case" moments.

It's been a wild game of trial and error. Before Baby Bear was born, we guessed and bought what we thought was minimally necessary. My thinking was that since we didn't know what to expect, we should buy the minimum and add as needs arise. When Baby Bear entered our lives, I realized that many of those once "necessary" items became "unnecessary" or "more than we needed." As Baby Bear developed, other items we had weren't quite the right fit. So on top of the unnecessary we bought more that was necessary. On top of the items that weren't quite right, we had to replace with more suitable purchases.

In the end, our minimum amount of things became just too much.

So this is why sometimes I wish I had done some more research. Perhaps we could have found the items cheaper. Perhaps we would have known beforehand that the items that seemed better for our baby, were just a bunch of expensive nonsense and scaled down. Perhaps, I would have been more careful about considering the worth to Baby Bear's growth and development. Perhaps we wouldn't have ended up spending so much on frivolities. Perhaps...perhaps...perhaps...

But since I don't have a time machine handy, it's a little too late for perhaps. Or...

Perhaps it's all just part of becoming a wiser more efficient parent.

Quiet is Good?

This past week has had its shares of ups and downs. At the end of VBS Baby Bear caught a virus (or rather at the beginning of VBS since most viruses/bacteria have at least a 5-day incubation period...I know, nerd). So Saturday and Sunday she spent at home with a fever, poor child. Monday she broke out into a rash, and experienced mothers worldwide (My cousin, who has 4 kids - Friends who live minutes away) said "Oh, she must have roseola." So we stayed home for a couple of days. But she got better, and the rash disappeared.

Then I got sick. Still am. Not too bad, just extra tired. (Sorry haven't called you, Brightlife - have number, will call!)

Baby Bear then decided to kick off her good health to move from immobile child to mobile child. (Not crawling...but massive bouts of rolling)

How I found out: So today she started to cry because I sat down to rest. I heard something fall in the kitchen and went to investigate. After I found the culprit (a pile of clutter had fallen over) I realized Baby Bear had stopped crying and it was quiet. I thought, "ah, quiet is good." Then I stopped and rethought, "Uh oh, quiet is not good." I peeked my head around the corner to find my daughter four feet from where she started and pulling out all the magazines and whatnot that we stored on the shelf under our coffee table. She was happily chomping on a Physical Therapy magazine, and looked up at me with proud eyes that said, "Look, what I did!"

I smiled, of course. (But inside I'm thinking "Man, I have to start childproofing my home?!?!)

Here's a pic of our happy Bear at VBS last week.

The Boys at Church...(By Songwriterlee)

So it's already begun. *Sigh*

This week is VBS (Vacation Bible School). Since I am a volunteer, Baby Bear got to spend her mornings in the nursery with the wonderful volunteers who take great care of her. So instead of being with just one kid, I am with about 140 kids.

After each day at VBS, there is lunch served to the volunteers and their families. The kids eat first, and then while the moms eat (and chat) the kids run around and play. I have been having a blast just observing and watching all the kids, including my own.

Baby Bear isn't quite mobile, so she sits in her stroller and watches all the rest of the kids. Apparently, it doesn't hamper her socilization much. There are always people stopping by to play with her and entertain her. She's so extroverted! I'm not quite sure how two introverts sired an extrovert.

Meanwhile, there is this group of boys around 3-5 years old who constantly come to chat with Baby Bear. They talk to her and then they ask me questions about her.

"Is she your baby?" (Yup)
"Where's her hair?" (I don't know, did I lose it?)
"Is she laughing?" (She thinks you're funny)
"Did she drop her food?" (Yes)
"What is she eating?" (Baby Cereal)
"How old is she?" (7 months)

And then they always end with, "She has cute smile" or "She's cute" or "She smiles good."

Uh oh.

I think it's time for daddy to worry.

Five by Five (by Padawanlee)

Well since I have been tagged... here I go on my very first post.

Five Things in My Freezer

1. Milk for Baby Bear.
2. Edamame in shells.
3. Shu Mai that my grandmother made for us. Yum.
4. Lots of frozen fruits so we can make smoothies with, that we never do.
5. Phyllo dough.

Five Things in My Closet

1. Random stuff.
2. Clothes
3. More stuff
4. Crock pot
5. Water balloon launcher

Five Items in the Car

1. Tennis racquet
2. The only 3 CD’s that I own.
3. Bag of chips in my glove compartment just incase I get the munchies.
4. A bag of trash - Sometimes trash is in the bag, sometimes trash is on the floor. (ah… memoires of college)
5. Lots of AAA maps.

Five Items in My Backpack (I shall rummage though the backpack that I haven’t used in 2 years)

1. Lots of highlighters.
2. Lots of pens.
3. Random papers that I have no idea where they belong.
4. Spare change.
5. Dust and dirt from who knows where.

Five Books on My Nightstand (I have a few books on my nightstand that I do not even know the name of, but here is what I am reading.)

1. Sports Illustrated.
2. ESPN magazine.
3. TIME.
4. Newsweek.
5. NIV Bible.

I tag the one and only jasonisscruffylooking

The Strange Things We Do...

A few weeks ago, a friend of ours was telling us how it's fun to see how short babies arms are. They're arms don't quite reach atop their heads...hee hee. Check this picture out.

Five By Five - Tagged Again!

Tagged again! I don't mind being tagged, I just never know what to write...but I'll do my best. I've been tagged by Nina this time...

Five Things in My Freezer

1. Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken - Yum yum...easy meal, good taste.
2. Cha Siu Bao - Homemade by Matt's grandma...again, easy meal, good taste.
3. Ice Cube trays fulls of frozen foods for baby bear(peaches, apples, avocados, peas, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash - and more!)
4. Ground Turkey - I've been trying to cook healthier...Matt's cholesterol, grrr.
5. Pork bits - Perhaps one of these days I'll cook up some kimchee jigae with the random pork bits.

Five Things in My Closet

1. Uh, closet? Am I supposed to put things in the closet? They're doing fine on the floor.

Five Items in the Car

1. Baby Bear's stroller which I found out today is 28 lbs! Uh, I think we need a lighter stroller. Any suggestions?
2. My CD case with some of my favorite cds - when driving, you gotta have the tunes!
3. A travel Bible - Since we forget to usually bring one with us on Sundays to church, so we leave a small one in the car.
4. A bag of trash - Sometimes trash is in the bag, sometimes trash is on the floor.
5. Random stack of papers - I'll have to go through those one day...but I think they're old maps, past church bulletins, Matt's jury summons, or something...

Five Items in My Backpack (Is this for a student? oh well...I'll just use the diaper bag or my purse?)

1. A bottle of water - always, a must! For a thirsty mom and a thirsty baby.
2. A small tupperware full of Veggie and Fruit Puffs for the always hungry Baby Bear.
3. Mini Tinkle Crinkle - Baby Bear's friend when we travel.
4. A Joann's Gift Card that I received for Mother's Day - in case I have to urge to buy crafts.
5. A Picture of Matt and me - A friend took a mini polaroid of us on our wedding day, and I just carry it around.


Five Books on My Nightstand (Okay, so they're not on my nightstand, but they're wherever I usually read when I get a chance)

1. 1001 Women's Healthcare Questions - I don't have questions, I'm just a Bio major and health issues fascinate me. I know, I'm such a nerd.
2. The Poisonwood Bible - The fiction book, I'm currently reading. Wow, does this woman(author=Barbara Kingsolver) have a way with words or what? Plus, she has a graduate degree in Biology...
3. Moral Choices - Tough. It's making my brain mushy.
4. Super Baby Food - Yup, I'm cooking Baby Bear's food. Hey, I figure I might as well try.
5. Real Simple - Okay, so this isn't a book...but I really like the magazine. It makes me feel like one day I can actually organize and simplify things in my life...one day.

Who to tag...who to tag...how about meishichan(since she tagged me last time), mud2clarity and brightlife(only if you would like to - I won't be crushed if you don't), and Matt(only, he doesn't have a blog, nor chooses to write in this blog, but he said I could tag him).

Being a Stay at Home Mom...

I'm terrible at being a stay at home mom.

I can't keep our place clean at all. You can barely walk through our livingroom, there's so much junk piled all over the place. I fear the neighbors will peek inside and think we've been vandalized.

I try to cook for my husband. He claims that I make better food for Baby Bear than I do for him. More often than not, he brings dinner home. Yesterday, I actually cooked, but I pulled a "stupid." I took a pyrex pan out of the oven and unknowingly placed it in a puddle of water on the counter. For any of you who have ever done that...crack! and glass is all over your kitchen. Thank goodness no one was nearby to get hit by the flying glass.

I drag my baby out all the time. I can't stand being home for too long, so I take Baby Bear on random outings to take the edge off the insanity. Well, she doesn't last long, and I end up making her more tired, and that pretty much ruins her nap schedule for the day.

But in spite of all of that, It's so neat to be able to see Baby Bear grow and change each day. It's worth being home if I get to see this toothy grin all the time...

Tagged?

Wha! Meishichan tagged me...Let's see if I can do this...

I am thinking about what tomorrow will be like and what I should pack in Baby Bear's diaper bag to deal with tomorrow.

I said "poopy" more times than I should have today.

I want a piece of peach pie.

I wish the weekends were longer to spend with my family.

I miss my students. I don't miss their complaining about doing work.

I hear silence. Awwww.....

I wonder why our neighbors are so loud.

I regret not exercising more before baby bear was born.

I am mostly Korean, but partly Japanese.

I dance when I'm happy.

I sing for a lot of weddings.

I cry when I'm frustrated.

I am not Chinese.

I write songs when I feel the need to create.

I confuse restaurant names. There's a restaurant called "Bamboo Song" and for some reason I keep calling it "Morning Wood." Yuck.

I need to go to sleep earlier at night.

I should go to sleep earlier at night.

I finish all the chores that I should have done earlier in the day at night instead of going to sleep earlier.

I tag anyone who wants to be.

Ick! Part 2

As an addendum to my last post...here's Baby Bear actually spitting out the peaches.

Ick!

Here's my Baby Bear eating her lunch today.

Usually when I feed her something new, she makes this face. If she isn't too sure about the taste, she lets it dribble out of her mouth. After a couple more feedings of the same stuff, she tends to accept it as food and includes it in her repertoire.

Today she actually spat the food out. I saw a chunk of it fly towards me.

What did I feed her?

Peaches. Go figure. A couple more tries and she continued to spray out food like I had given her a bad tasting medicine.

Oh well. I guess our little "foodie" can't like it all. She was much better after I cleansed her palate with a spoonful of peas.

Where Did This Come From?

Today we left Baby Bear in the church nursery for the first time. She seemed fine when I left her there and she seemed fine when Matt went to pick her up. Although, later when we were leaving to go to lunch, I was playing a simple game of peek-a-boo with her when she made this strange face. She apparently was smiling...but it wasn't her normal smile. And every time thereafter when she smiled, she made this face. Sometime between this morning and lunchtime, she changed the way she smiles...did she pick something up from the nursery?

We're still bewildered about the new smile, but just for fun we thought we would try it, too.

I don't know, I don't think she got it from us.

Happy Fourth!

Tonight we went to watch the fireworks at the park. Actually, we intended to leave before the fireworks because I thought Baby Bear would scream through all the noise, but we ended up staying.

So I prepared to comfort a scared baby. I held her tight, gave her a pacifier, a sippy cup, prepared to cover her ears and warned her that the fireworks would be loud. To my surprise, she was fascinated by all the lights in the sky. She was still a little scared, but she sat still and watched intently...so intently, that she tired herself out and fell asleep half way through.

Here she is sleeping but still clutching onto her sippy cup for dear life. She finally let it go after the fireworks were over.

Hmmph!

Our baby certainly has personality. Padawanlee thinks it's the "Korean" in her. I wonder what he means by that...