Days of our Laives

Kira has figured out how to tie knots. Too bad she doesn't know how to take them apart because she has asked me to take apart about 100 knots! Here is a video of Kira and Renee:

Kira answers the phone when it rings. I try to beat her to it because who knows who could be calling, but usually she's faster than I am. Most of the time it's a friend or family member, so not much harm can be done. Besides that, Kira knows more or less what to do. She picks up the phone and says hello. Then she tells the person what she's doing, be it painting flowers, eating cranberries, watching tv, building a city (with her blocks), or watching mommy feed mei mei. Kira has used the phone before, but only recently has the light bulb gone off in her head that the phone is used for communication, as a means of exchanging information. Before, she would just talk gibberish into the phone, but now she can answer questions posed to her, and she can pose questions to the caller. She still has some things to grasp; sometimes she will tell the caller to look at something and proceed to point the phone at the object. Oh, and one more Renee thing, too: Renee cries a lot les...

Kira seems to do or say something new every few weeks. Here is a list of new things from the past month or so: Things she says, and I quote: - Daddy, you go upstairs by yourself while I watch Mei Mei (little sister in Chinese). - Yee Yee (maternal auntie in Chinese), do you like cheese cake better or ice cream better? - I'm the old baby - I'm crossing my legs (said, as she crosses her legs like a business woman) - It's a tunic, Kew Kew (maternal uncle in Chinese) FYI, her Chinese is pretty much nonexistent at this point. =( Kira can color pictures while staying inside the lines. She can also free-hand draw a variety of things, such as, flowers, fish, bananas; earlier on, she could only draw smiley faces. Kira has slowed down on the painting lately. I guess she's bored with it. I can't wait for her to start art lessons! Kira puts on dance shows. It's a combination of ballet, jazz and new age. Her usual dance uniform is a T-shirt, tights and a tutu. K...

I documented so many more things about Kira when she was Renee's age (almost 3 months old). And, Trevor admits he took more pictures of Kira than of Renee. Here are some Renee stories off the top of my head: One thing Renee does that makes me laugh is she whacks herself with her fist and starts crying. It's so cute. Poor thing; she can't control her muscles very well. I can tell she doesn't take any nonsense; Renee annoyed, Renee cry. Despite having little control of her muscles, Renee is stronger than Kira was. She holds up her head pretty well, and she kicks hard. While we are comparing Renee and Kira, I must say that Renee eats a lot more than Kira did. Renee feeds every 2-3 hours, while Kira fed every 3-4 hours. And, I think Renee eats more than Kira did at each feeding based on what I'm perceiving as greater milk production by me. Renee does not suck as long as Kira did and she does not seem to work as hard. I attribute this to my milk coming out eas...

Kira has a whole bunch of excuses that she uses to stall before going to bed at night and in the afternoon for naps. Here's the list in no particular order: - I gotta go pee pee - I gotta go poo poo (usually used after pee pee is no longer valid) - My turtle is broken - I got boogie - I want water - I got to turn the lights on - I wanna read a book

It is our conscious decision that eating organic food is optional. Maybe I sound defensive, but a lot of my peers, of whom I respect and admire, make eating organic foods compulsory. They site the negative side effects of hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides as the primary reason for spending the extra money on special food. Added nutritional value and better taste are secondary reasons. I've done my own research, and I'm still not convinced that eating organic foods makes a significant difference in our health and development. But, sometimes I have a friend who is really convincing, and I can't shake the feeling that I'm doing something wrong. Specifically, Kira eats fresh strawberries almost every day. She loves them for breakfast. Strawberries are one of the most notorious items in produce for having pesticide residue; supposedly, according to my friend, of whom I totally trust and believe. I'm a little worried that although the pesticide residue found on...

As I was surfing the web yesterday, something reminded me that I need to introduce the bottle to Renee, and fast! Experts recommend giving a breast-fed baby a bottle between 6-8 weeks of age so that they accept the bottle as a means for eating. Otherwise, if I need to be away from Renee for whatever reason, she might not want to suck on a bottle, which will make life very difficult for the babysitter. Renee is already 10 weeks old, so I'm a little panicked. I gave her a bottle yesterday and she didn't take it. She gagged and almost threw up; and, when she throws up, it's always a major event. It's possible she didn't take the bottle because the breast milk was not perfect. I defrosted some breast milk I had stored in the freezer. Maybe the temperature wasn't right. Or, maybe she could taste something funny about it. I tried to defrost the milk as slowly as possible to avoid degradation, but in the end, I submerged the container in really hot water to s...

Features I Want: - standing fold - light weight - accepts infant car seat - comfortable seating for Kira (suitable for napping) Front-Runners: - UPPAbaby Vista - Baby Jogger City Select - Baby Jogger City Mini (initial concern is a slight recline in the seat when fully upright) - Peg Perego Aria Twin - Joovy Ergo - Britax B-Ready - Chicco Cortina Together Disqualified So Far: - UPPAbaby Vista - Tried it in the store and Kira doesn't like the Rumbleseat. It's way too close to the main seat. Plus, it doesn't recline. - Baby Jogger City Select - The only complaint is the size and weight. It's very long, I feel like I'm pushing a train. And it's very heavy, making it close to impossible for me to take it out on my own, which defeats the whole purpose of having a double stroller. -Peg Perego Aria Twin - Doesn't accept the infant car seat that I have. - Joovy Ergo - does not have a full 2nd seat, which I really need for Kira since she's still so youn...

I wish I had more time to write posts. Keeping memories is so important, and writing is important too. It keeps my brain working to some degree. I'm going to try and write a post every day; even if it is a short post. Renee had her 2-month doctor's appointment last week. She weighs 14 lbs and received 4 vaccinations, 1 of which was given orally. I'm sorry to say this, but the nurse who administered the vaccinations was horrible. The oral vaccination came in a little pouch and Renee was to swallow the syrup that was inside. The nurse did not know that Renee did not have to take all of it, just a little of it. Rather than stopping after Renee took a gulp, she continued to feed her slowly and eventually Renee vomited. She threw up what seemed like the entire contents of her stomach. The nurse ran out to ask the doctor if Renee would have to take another dose. He said no, as long as she swallowed a little. And the nurse forced the remaining few drops in the pouch in...

Poor Renee is almost 2 months old now and we've hardly had any new blog entries about her! This blog has been great for history keeping because we can compare Renee's stats with Kira's old stats from the same age. 2 Week Visit When Renee was born she was 7lbs 15oz. By the time she left the hospital she had lost 8oz and was 7lb 7oz. At the 2 week it is common for babies to reach their birth weight, so we were pleasantly surprised when Renee weighed in at 8.5oz! I did not get the official length from the pediatrician, but he marked the top of her head and bottom of her foot on the paper liner under Renee. After he left I measured it at 21.5 inches, she was born 19in long. Most notably, there was no mention from the pediatrician about Renee having a small head. Ever since Kira was born, she has always had a small head, and the pediatrician would go out his way to mention it after measuring her head. 4 Week Visit The 4 week visit Not much info to post about this other than Rene...