Eat Banana Video

Big sister K sharing her banana with baby M:

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day

We took a long drive to Flushing on Saturday for Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open.  It was canceled last year due to hurricane Irene, but we try to make it out there whenever we can (though after this year's experience, we're having second thoughts about going back next year).  The trip just doesn't seem worth it anymore... we probably spent more time commuting than we did at the US Open itself.  Plus, it was hot, it was humid, the lines were long, and everything was overpriced.  They also didn't hand out as many freebies as they had in the past.  At one point, while I was waiting on line with big sister K for one of the activities, M took baby M around to scout out giveaways.  Even with baby M as bait, he came back empty-handed (though he did say baby M was a chick magnet).

Big sister K got to take pictures with Dora, Diego, Mario, and Luigi (she insisted on taking a picture with the latter two even though she didn't know who they were).

 

 

I think out of all of us, big sister K enjoyed it the most.  I guess that makes sense since we really went for her.  One good thing that came out of it (which was our intention) was that big sister K sparked an interest in playing tennis.  Hopefully that interest holds up as we look into giving her lessons when she gets a little older.  This morning when I dropped her off at daycare, she couldn't wait to tell her teachers that she went to the US Open on Saturday.

We met up briefly with WC and family, but they got to the Open much earlier than we did and it was so crowded that we couldn't really do anything together.  I was disappointed we saw each other for only a quick minute before heading our separate ways (as expected, big sister K kept asking where C was), but hopefully we can plan another play-date for the kids soon.  (WC: If you are reading this, this is a hint for you to make use of your Sesame Place season pass before the end of the year.)

Need to Vent

Let me preface this blog entry with the following: For those of you who know both M and me, this is not meant for anyone to take sides.  I just need to vent and figured I'd use this blog as an outlet to do so.

M and I have a strict policy (or so I thought) of no candy or chocolate for the kids.  That's why when big sister K asked for chocolate during the car ride home from school yesterday, I automatically said no.  Then we got home and big sister K asked M for the same thing.  His response: "okay, you can have a small piece after dinner."  Imagine my surprise and dismay!  M told me he had promised big sister K some chocolate that morning, so I couldn't say no.  I got so upset I couldn't even eat dinner last night (I still haven't regained my appetite and I haven't spoken to M since).  It's not even the issue of giving our daughter a sweet (I'm not happy about it, but I wouldn't be opposed to it if he had given me some advanced notice).  It's the fact that we weren't aligned in our parental disciplining, and what's more disconcerting is that this isn't the first time it's happened.  There have been other occasions where big sister K wanted to watch TV when it was past her bedtime.  I'd say no, big sister K would go ahead and ask daddy, and the next thing you know, she's plopped in front of the family room TV, eyes glued to an episode of the Fresh Beat Band.  Then there was another time when she misbehaved and asked for a sticker.  I told her no, she'd ask M, and she gets a sticker.  Very frustrating indeed.

Our daughter is very much a mama's girl and would often times prefer to do things with me.  It's natural for the other parent to feel left out; that's why I can't help but feel like M does this intentionally (even if it's at the subconscious level) so that he would be viewed as the "good guy" whereas mommy is the mean one.  I don't want big sister K to think that she can always go to daddy when mommy says no to something (even though she's already doing this), and I've mentioned this to M when it's happened in the past, but he's always brushed it off.

I welcome any feedback on this topic.  Am I overreacting?

Baby M's First Words

After three continuous days of sleepless nights and vomiting, I finally decided to take baby M to the doctor last Friday (didn't know how much longer M and I would be able to handle staying up until dawn with a crying baby).  The diagnosis was as I suspected: baby M had an ear infection (first one ever).  He was prescribed Amoxicillin for 10 days, but unfortunately after the first dose, baby M developed a bad case of diaper rash.  He kept pooping every few hours (including the middle of the night) and would cry hysterically each time because he was in so much pain.  Poor baby... his skin was so raw and red; it would require two people to change him - one of us to hold him down.

The Amoxicillin kicked in after a day or so and baby M was finally able to sleep through the night again.  After some heavy use of Boudreaux's butt paste and Aveeno oatmeal baths, the diaper rash also improved.  During our trip to Target on Saturday, baby M was in good spirits.  While we were perusing through the baby aisle, he was babbling and all of a sudden goes, "DADA!" (and this was after saying "baba" in the car last week).  I got so excited I ran to baby M and started making a big fuss over it.  All the shoppers around us must have thought I was crazy, but I didn't care.  And to think, all this time, we've been trying (unsuccessfully) to get him to say "mama."  If I got that excited over hearing him say "dada," imagine what my reaction would be when he does learn to say "mama!"

On Sunday, M was watching the two kids while I was upstairs pumping.  When I got done, he told me that baby M said, "nai nai" ("milk" in Chinese).  Baba (which is "father" in Chinese), dada, and nai nai... what else will come out of his mouth before he says "mama"?

2012 Summer Olympics

It's been hard catching the Olympics these past two weeks.  With the time difference between here and London, it's virtually impossible to watch anything live, and pre-recordings just aren't as exciting (especially after having gotten an update online).  I'm also not a huge fan of how NBC has been purposefully selecting what to air (not to mention how the media is always so US-focused).  I understand there's too much going on to show everything, but they do own multiple network channels.  Why not use them to broadcast the Olympics during prime time?

Once in a while, we manage to catch a bit of the Olympics after dinner.  Sometimes it happens to be before big sister K's bedtime, so she'd watch it with us.  Unfortunately, I've come to realize she isn't very interested in gymnastics, volleyball, tennis, or any other sport on dry ground.  What she does like is diving.  The first time she saw it, she asked me, "why are they jumping into the water?"  I couldn't help but laugh (I think to her, it was like asking why skydivers would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane).  She somehow grew fond of the sport though, because they had it on again a few nights ago, and when big sister K saw it, she said, "oooh!  I like this!" and insisted on watching it until the end (which, thanks to NBC, wasn't very long).

On another note, the US finally surpassed China in medal count (83 vs. 78), although China still leads in gold medals.  Let's see how the next two days pan out.

Thanking God

Baby M got sick over the weekend and decided to share it with the rest of the family.  We all woke up with runny noses today, with M bearing the brunt of it.  We had plans to head out to Chinatown for my last-minute dentist appointment to put a crown back in (after a few visits to an endodontist to retreat a botched root canal, the crown on that tooth gave way and fell out as I was enjoying some Chex Mix Thursday night).  M was too sick to go out, so we decided that I would take big sister K with me while he stayed home with baby M (who was still under the weather).  The plan was for the two of us to go to service in the morning, then head over to my mother-in-law's place for lunch, where big sister K would stay while I went for my dentist appointment.  Well, it should no longer come as a surprise to me that things rarely go according to plan.

Big sister K and I were well on our way out to Chinatown and I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to get to church on time for once, when I get a phone call from M telling me to go home.  It turns out I had forgotten to bring my breast pump accessories with me, so I had to turn around and head back after driving nearly half an hour, thus relinquishing all hopes of making it to service at all.  We ended up staying home for lunch since it was so late already.  Big sister K prayed for the food and in her prayer, she thanked God for daddy being sick.  My inital reaction was to correct her and say it's not a good thing for daddy to be sick, but then I thought about it and came to realize that we shouldn't thank God only when things are going well.  The Bible tells us to "rejoice always, pray continually, [and] give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a).  How astounding that God would use my three and a half year old daughter to remind me of this.

The Rest of July

Recently, it seems like big sister K has become more needy.  Things she was willing to do when she was younger no longer holds true these days.  She always needs either M or myself to stay/play with her and she won't go anywhere in the house unless one of us went with her (i.e., to the bathroom, to get something from her room, etc).  Drop-off at daycare in the mornings has been unpredictable; at least half the times in a given week, she would break down crying as I am about to leave for work.  I feel like she is regressing emotionally, and through no change in routine at home.  Hopefully this is only a phase that she will grow out of soon.

Baby M started holding the bottle on his own at home last week (apparently, he's been doing it at daycare for a while now) and can clap his hands.  It's amazing seeing the different things he can do each day.  I was also told by his caregivers that he started scaling the book shelf at daycare on Friday.  Oh boy!

We went to play mini-golf at the Branchburg Family Golf Center last Saturday.  It was the first time we took big sister K (and baby M, obviously), and she had a blast... her baby brother, not so much since he was strapped to daddy the entire time.

Big sister K has been voluntarily praying before we eat dinner (we always ask her to choose who will be praying).  In addition to the regular items she thanks God for (i.e., the food; keeping us safe and healthy; mommy, daddy, big sister K, and baby M), she's also been adding her own twist to it.  Last Sunday, she gave thanks to God for letting her play with her cousins Jonah and Mebrat (we drove out to Chinatown and they accompanied her to the park).  When I told her she forgot about her cousin Elijah, she wanted to pray again and this time included Elijah.  Earlier this week, she thanked God for the outdoor concert we attended in our town, yesterday it was the swimming class she went to, and tonight, she thanked God for baby M waking up and sleeping and mommy (I said she prays for things on her own, I never said I always understood what it was).  Despite the periodic incoherent phrases and the grammatical errors, I am very proud of my little girl for extending her prayers all on her own.

We started giving puffs to baby M to eat for the first time today.  Can you tell he's enjoying it?  Given the option, this boy would be downing the food we eat rather than slurping the mush (a.k.a. baby food) we give him.  He stares and salivates every time he sees us put food in our mouth.  M has already given him bananas (real bananas) to try and he loves it.

Here's big sister K practicing her writing.  I love her pose with the crossing of the legs.

Me and my babies:

 

Mid-July Update

Baby M turned eight months a few days ago.  He's been busy crawling all over the place and is building up his leg muscles by standing now.  He can pull himself up while holding on to something and there's been a few occasions where he's taken a step or two, so I'm sure he will be cruising (and maybe even walking) in no time.

Earlier this week, baby M came down with a fever while at daycare.  I had to leave work early to pick him up.  He was in the nurse's office when I got there, and the second he saw me walk through the door, his face lit up, he grinned from cheek to cheek, and he instantly started crawling towards me.  At that moment, my heart totally melted.  No words could describe the love I felt and the emotions that ran through me.

Baby M's fever lingered into the evening; we eventually gave him ibuprofen to ease his discomfort and help him sleep better.  He couldn't go back to daycare the next day even though his fever went away (since their policy is to be 24 hours fever-free before returning), so he ended up spending his 8-month birthday at home with daddy.  I suspect teething is the cause of his illness.  Baby M has had a terrible runny nose for a few days now, along with phlegm in his throat that he can't seem to get rid of (which caused him to throw up several times after eating).  We've had to clean up more vomit these past few days than I care to remember.

Going back to two weeks ago... we made a late trip to Sesame Place on July 4th in the 90+ degree weather.  We got there around 4pm and only stayed for a few hours.  Big sister K and I enjoyed playing in the water while M and baby M tried to stay cool indoors where there was air conditioning.  We left before the evening parade started and stopped by Olive Garden for dinner.  On our way home, baby M started crying up a storm.  One thing I've come to realize - my boy does not like being stuck in the car when it is dark.  Every time we've had to drive home at night, he starts crying non-stop throughout the car ride, then five minutes before we get to our destination, he falls asleep.  I've grown accustomed to it (though that's not necessarily a good thing) and fortunately, big sister K can sleep through the noise.  Still, it's no fun hearing a baby scream for 45 minutes straight (or for an hour and a half if we're going home from my brother's place in midtown Manhattan).  Someone suggested I get a night light (or something similar) for the car.  Any other suggestions to spare our ears?