Christmas eve was cold and sunny. We did some home supply shopping in the morning, and went for a walk around downtown Kirkland in the afternoon. Qi cooked up a nice scallop with bell peppers dish for dinner. I had a nice chat with Irene and fell asleep super early while nursing him in the evening.
It snowed in the afternoon on Christmas day! We had a white Christmas for a few minutes before it all turned to slush. Not much activity today, see pictures describing the laid back holiday this year.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Morning Expressiveness photo series
Like I was saying, Andy is talkative and full of expressions in the mornings. Pictures here. He is usually wide awake and content at the office in the mornings. My officemates entertain him too.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Week 10 Observations
* He is talking so much more now. He has learned to cry for attention (used to be for food or poop only). When he's in my office and awake, he makes sure I look at him often. When I make faces he would smile and make faces back or move his hands. See picture here, no posing. He was really like this a bigger part of the afternoon today when he's not eating or sleeping.
* He wants to be held a lot more now. Wendy, the Snuggler teacher said it's part of the phase.
* He uses his hands a lot more, waving fists and opening fingers.
* He starts to drool and sucks on hands more.
* He kicks stronger now, crawling like a fast worm.
* He's got a full set of eye lashes now (didn't have any when he was born).
* I've been breastfeeding straight with no formula supplement for a week now. It feels like learning to swing, took the body a while to get into the rhythm, but I think I'm finally over the initial hump now. When I went to the Nurturing Mom class last Thursday, I happened to be the only one that showed up (probably because of the rain). It was a breast feeding support group and the teacher was a wonderful nurse. I asked a ton of questions and she patiently answered and observed the feeding for an hour. I learned a lot about the science behind breastfeeding. She was really impressed that I turned corner on feeding since two biggest hurdles to breast feeding are starting on formula too early and going back to work. She encouraged me to stick with it (plug him onto you whenever possible as she put it). She also commented Andy seemed to be ahead of his development curve as he was making lots of sounds and held attention looking at people. I felt really good.
* He wants to be held a lot more now. Wendy, the Snuggler teacher said it's part of the phase.
* He uses his hands a lot more, waving fists and opening fingers.
* He starts to drool and sucks on hands more.
* He kicks stronger now, crawling like a fast worm.
* He's got a full set of eye lashes now (didn't have any when he was born).
* I've been breastfeeding straight with no formula supplement for a week now. It feels like learning to swing, took the body a while to get into the rhythm, but I think I'm finally over the initial hump now. When I went to the Nurturing Mom class last Thursday, I happened to be the only one that showed up (probably because of the rain). It was a breast feeding support group and the teacher was a wonderful nurse. I asked a ton of questions and she patiently answered and observed the feeding for an hour. I learned a lot about the science behind breastfeeding. She was really impressed that I turned corner on feeding since two biggest hurdles to breast feeding are starting on formula too early and going back to work. She encouraged me to stick with it (plug him onto you whenever possible as she put it). She also commented Andy seemed to be ahead of his development curve as he was making lots of sounds and held attention looking at people. I felt really good.
Holiday Parties
Andy has been busy attending parties lately. We went to Hong & Rusty's on Saturday night. They cooked up a storm. It was nice to see all the babies there.
Andy and I dropped my dad off at the airport on Sunday afternoon. A car ride always stops his crying, but this time he cried all the back from the airport. Dad said later that he was holding Andy's hand on the way to the airport so maybe it was partially because he felt the missing of grandpa on the way back.
We headed to my Snuggler classmate Nicole's Open House party directly after the airport. I fed him in the car before going in and that put him in a good mood at the party. It was very nice of Nicole to have invited everybody over. This was sure a party with the most babies I've seen. We had a good time socializing with other new parents.
Today we had our Snuggler class holiday party. I made a bunch of sandwiches using the nice Google breads (it's a shame they always let so much good food going to waste so I asked the server for some last night): chicken salad on Focaccia, and Turkey Swiss with pesto spread on potato roll. It fit perfectly since everyone else brought cracker, veggies and desserts. The teacher kept saying she couldn't believe I took the trouble to make the sandwiches. I was happy everyone liked it. Wendy, our teacher brought a photo album of a group of about 10 kids Christmas pictures. She became friends with a bunch other moms known from her Snuggler class and their kids became good friends throughout years. It was really cute to see how the kids grew gradually from the yearly photos. I asked about carrier since there doesn't seem to be one that Andy would be to be in for long. One girl Ashley helped me trying out her moby wrap, but that still didn't keep Andy for long. For some, this was their last class as they are 12 weeks (this is the 0-3mo Snuggler class). Andy would be graduating too when we come back from the holidays (no class next two Tuesdays). I volunteered to get everyone's email to start a group.
All the party pictures here.
Andy and I dropped my dad off at the airport on Sunday afternoon. A car ride always stops his crying, but this time he cried all the back from the airport. Dad said later that he was holding Andy's hand on the way to the airport so maybe it was partially because he felt the missing of grandpa on the way back.
We headed to my Snuggler classmate Nicole's Open House party directly after the airport. I fed him in the car before going in and that put him in a good mood at the party. It was very nice of Nicole to have invited everybody over. This was sure a party with the most babies I've seen. We had a good time socializing with other new parents.
Today we had our Snuggler class holiday party. I made a bunch of sandwiches using the nice Google breads (it's a shame they always let so much good food going to waste so I asked the server for some last night): chicken salad on Focaccia, and Turkey Swiss with pesto spread on potato roll. It fit perfectly since everyone else brought cracker, veggies and desserts. The teacher kept saying she couldn't believe I took the trouble to make the sandwiches. I was happy everyone liked it. Wendy, our teacher brought a photo album of a group of about 10 kids Christmas pictures. She became friends with a bunch other moms known from her Snuggler class and their kids became good friends throughout years. It was really cute to see how the kids grew gradually from the yearly photos. I asked about carrier since there doesn't seem to be one that Andy would be to be in for long. One girl Ashley helped me trying out her moby wrap, but that still didn't keep Andy for long. For some, this was their last class as they are 12 weeks (this is the 0-3mo Snuggler class). Andy would be graduating too when we come back from the holidays (no class next two Tuesdays). I volunteered to get everyone's email to start a group.
All the party pictures here.
Monday, December 17, 2007
A dream
I had a most vivid dream of Andy this morning. We were sitting on a sandy beach with the most clear blue sky. Herds of giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions run by. It was like a safari, except we weren't moving (probably because Andy can't walk yet). It was like in the discovery channel or a natural history museum came alive. There was a soft voice adding scientific knowledge making it seem like a museum guided tour. I was afraid the animals would step on us initially, but somehow they went by us, so I sat back and relaxed. It felt like watching a 3D movie, with the hemisphere as the screen. It was just breathtaking. Andy was watching all the wonders with the amazement in his eyes too.
Then it involved go seeing Li's new born (my coworker friend Li just had her baby girl last Thurs, Dec 13). I guess I should go visit them soon.
Then it involved go seeing Li's new born (my coworker friend Li just had her baby girl last Thurs, Dec 13). I guess I should go visit them soon.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Last German II class
Jennifer (the teacher) and classmates had asked multiple times when I'd bring the kid. So I finally did, to our last German class, this Wednesday. He was awake most the time. I fed him the first half, then he became more awake at break time and stayed alert most of the second hour (and behaved). We got some pictures here at break time. Andy seems to like the classroom setting: loves to stare at the lights and all the objects and people in the big room.
2 mo checkup
Andy's Report card from his checkup on Wednesday.
wt: 9 lb 7 oz (10%),
length: 21 7/8 in (10%),
head 39cm (25-50%)
Doc says he's growing perfectly, right on track! Dad with his engineering thinking, wants to create a excel sheet track his growth curve.
wt: 9 lb 7 oz (10%),
length: 21 7/8 in (10%),
head 39cm (25-50%)
Doc says he's growing perfectly, right on track! Dad with his engineering thinking, wants to create a excel sheet track his growth curve.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
2 mos
week 9 observations:
- His vocal development: louder cries and some new sounds.
- His crawling. Andy has very strong legs as doc confirmed from the beginning. He kicks a lot. In our new tummy time routine, we keep a hand at his feet as a kick board, he propels himself with a couple of strong kicks to move forward. His head is turned sideways and slides forward with the kick. His hands try to help but still a bit weak. He often crosses the entire width of a full size bed this way if we cheer for each step. I call it his little worm movement (especially fitting in his green stripes outfit). Pictures here.
- He stands. He can stand up straight for a good few seconds on your lap.
Andy and I went for a walk yesterday, and got a picture of the winter sunset by the lake.
Sunday Drawing
It's his 2 mo birthday today. Dad really loves his grandpa babysitting job; he's been taking Andy out for walks and holding him a lot. Too much that his back is hurting again (even after the expensive massage yesterday). So I took Andy to the drawing session with me again while he rests up. Old timers commented how much he's grown. Yeah some outfits that used to be dangling with empty leg holes are now fitting almost too tight lengthwise. He behaved well again grooving to Lyle's classical music (slept through the first half, ate and stayed awake curious eyed for the other). Pictures here.
Snuggler classes
Last week we talked about holiday traditions. It was quite interesting to hear lots of stories, conflicts of couples having different views and the resolutions. I think I'd like to adopt the one of filling a shoebox with gifts for the less fortunate kids; I think it'd be fun to involve Andy in such holiday tradition early on. But I think this holiday has gotten so commercialized that people look to the mall mad house as the way to express caring. I'm so glad my family isn't part of that. We usually just have a nice home cooked meal to gather family and friends together. Another tradition I started in the last few years is to see the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Some classmates already took babies there and said they liked it so we'll continue that this year.
This week we had a yoga instructor came in and demoed some yoga movement. They created new mom sessions where you could do with baby by your side (and even involve the baby in some poses).
One thing I love about the class is that we get to ask questions (and each time I seem to have new ones). Andy always had so much sleep in his eyes that sometimes he couldn't open his eyes. When I asked about that, clogged tear ducts turned out to be a common problem. One remedy a classmate said was to squirt breast milk into the baby's eyes. She was skeptical about it, but it kept the baby's eyes clear all day when she tried. So I tried that a couples times and his eyes definitely been much better this week. From time to time I read about new literatures about benefits of breast milk popping up. Almighty the breast milk! It makes me feel all the work was worth it.
Breast feeding
I made some progress on that. I'm nursing and pumping very frequently so he's taking much less formula and I can get close 6 oz a day from pumping now (we've been keeping detailed feeding log as part of my scientific experiments on milk production). But the lack of sleep from that and the slow flow of milk is still frustrating. I thought this article resonates to a lot of what I'm going through.
- His vocal development: louder cries and some new sounds.
- His crawling. Andy has very strong legs as doc confirmed from the beginning. He kicks a lot. In our new tummy time routine, we keep a hand at his feet as a kick board, he propels himself with a couple of strong kicks to move forward. His head is turned sideways and slides forward with the kick. His hands try to help but still a bit weak. He often crosses the entire width of a full size bed this way if we cheer for each step. I call it his little worm movement (especially fitting in his green stripes outfit). Pictures here.
- He stands. He can stand up straight for a good few seconds on your lap.
Andy and I went for a walk yesterday, and got a picture of the winter sunset by the lake.
Sunday Drawing
It's his 2 mo birthday today. Dad really loves his grandpa babysitting job; he's been taking Andy out for walks and holding him a lot. Too much that his back is hurting again (even after the expensive massage yesterday). So I took Andy to the drawing session with me again while he rests up. Old timers commented how much he's grown. Yeah some outfits that used to be dangling with empty leg holes are now fitting almost too tight lengthwise. He behaved well again grooving to Lyle's classical music (slept through the first half, ate and stayed awake curious eyed for the other). Pictures here.
Snuggler classes
Last week we talked about holiday traditions. It was quite interesting to hear lots of stories, conflicts of couples having different views and the resolutions. I think I'd like to adopt the one of filling a shoebox with gifts for the less fortunate kids; I think it'd be fun to involve Andy in such holiday tradition early on. But I think this holiday has gotten so commercialized that people look to the mall mad house as the way to express caring. I'm so glad my family isn't part of that. We usually just have a nice home cooked meal to gather family and friends together. Another tradition I started in the last few years is to see the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Some classmates already took babies there and said they liked it so we'll continue that this year.
This week we had a yoga instructor came in and demoed some yoga movement. They created new mom sessions where you could do with baby by your side (and even involve the baby in some poses).
One thing I love about the class is that we get to ask questions (and each time I seem to have new ones). Andy always had so much sleep in his eyes that sometimes he couldn't open his eyes. When I asked about that, clogged tear ducts turned out to be a common problem. One remedy a classmate said was to squirt breast milk into the baby's eyes. She was skeptical about it, but it kept the baby's eyes clear all day when she tried. So I tried that a couples times and his eyes definitely been much better this week. From time to time I read about new literatures about benefits of breast milk popping up. Almighty the breast milk! It makes me feel all the work was worth it.
Breast feeding
I made some progress on that. I'm nursing and pumping very frequently so he's taking much less formula and I can get close 6 oz a day from pumping now (we've been keeping detailed feeding log as part of my scientific experiments on milk production). But the lack of sleep from that and the slow flow of milk is still frustrating. I thought this article resonates to a lot of what I'm going through.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Drawing Jam
Today is the annual Drawing Jam at Gage. Andy and I hung out there all day. It started snowing last night and snowed some more today. I didn't get much drawing done because the little guy needed attention periodically. Juliette's Atelier students were really nice to me, offered me their studio corners for me to nurse Andy in. I got to learn a lot about different stages of the program. This one girl Lorene who is in her third year of the program was especially nice to me (coincidentally she had noticed me in past years' Drawing Jam events). We chatted quite a bit. She's tutoring and coordinating classes in addition to her class work, well on her path to a teaching/painting career. I was very envious. More fluffy flakes fell as we headed home. Pictures here.
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