Days of our Laives

Kira's first trip to SeaWorld! Lots of updating to do:  - potty training  - airplane ride  - Christmas presents

Hiya.  Here are some pictures of Kira and her friends at a birthday party.  The birthday boy turned 2 years old.  Everyone had a fabulous time.  I need to start planning Kira's #2 birthday, too!

I just bought a great sippy cup. It is easy to clean and does not leak - the only two requirements I have for a sippy cup.  It's called "The First Years Take and Toss Straw Cups"  They come with plastic straws, but I use disposable straws, because I'm assuming the straws will be difficult to clean. Difficulty cleaning is my biggest gripe with previous sippy cups we've used.  The first one I ever bought for Kira was "Playtex First Sipster Trainers"  What I like about it is that it has handles, which were useful for Kira when she had limited coordination.  And, it helped that there was a stopper in the spout which made her suck the liquid out; she was comfortable sucking rather than "drinking" as adults do.  But the stopper was also a problem because it was difficult to wash.  Every now and then I notice mildew growing in the stopper and in the spout of the lid.   It happens even if I meticulously take apart the thing and attentively wash each c...

Here are some pictures from this month:

1. Kira can count to 10 very reliably.  She started counting a couple weeks ago, but would usually stop at 6.  I would say 7, then she would say, 8 9 10.  But now she goes from 1 to 10 without a pause.  About a month ago she was saying numbers, but she was saying them randomly; like: 1 4 6 9.  But her tone was right. 2. Being sick and taking care of a baby is the worst thing ever.  I think I would rather clean college dorm bathrooms.  Seriously.  I would even do it while being sick at the same time. 3. I hate maternity clothes.  Nothing looks like something I would actually choose to wear.  I've looked everywhere: GAP, Old Navy, Target, Walmart.  I could look into more boutique-y places, but there is really no point in buying fancy maternity clothes especially when simultaneously taking care of a toddler...a snotty toddler.  When I was pregnant with Kira, my mom spoiled me ROTTEN with clothes from Bloomingdales.  Some were maternity clothes, but most were normal clothes that allowe...

Now that Kira is a little older, she needs more directed activities as opposed to free play.  She gets bored with free play very easily, even if I give her specific directions.  Drawing still keeps her somewhat occupied because she is deliberate about what she's drawing.  But blocks and stuffed animals don't do much for her anymore. The best things are activities that have a beginning, middle, and end.  She is most engaged with crafty things that have an end product.  Baking has been especially great for keeping us busy in the middle of the day.  I've been baking more than I usually do, and some mornings Kira wakes up and says to me, "Mommy, make cookies." I need more baking recipes.  If anyone has any good ones, send them our way!!

Wednesday Night - Kira went to bed crying, which happens occasionally.  We usually let her cry it out and eventually she falls sleep.  But this time, she woke up and cried every hour...for the entire night!  It was around 2 or 3 am I realized she was waking up because she was congested.  Every time I picked her up to soothe her, she would calm down and start breathing through her mouth.  Then, her reflexes would kick in and she would try to breathe through her nose, but because it was all blocked up she would actually stop breathing.  Finally when she would run out of air, she would kick her legs and get upset.  I felt so bad for her. Thursday - Kira wakes up and clearly she's sick.  She has a runny nose and is cranky all day...not a fun day for me either, especially on very little sleep.  During one of her tantrums, I bent down to pick her up and she declares "UP" and while doing so, she spit into my mouth. Friday - Kira was in better spirits, but I woke up with a sore t...

Lately, one of my goals is to set aside more individual time for myself. The reason this issue has come to the forefront of my life is because I feel like I've been slowly losing my identity. I don't really feel comfortable in my own skin anymore. I don't know how to describe myself to others. There are several reasons why I might feel this way, but I've decided it's too much trouble to figure out why and I should focus more on the solution, and that is to simply rediscover myself. One aspect of myself that I don't understand anymore is my body. I never really knew my old body to begin with, but what is certain is that my body is not what it used to be. It was "stolen" from me. When I was pregnant with Kira, I felt completely powerless to alter what was happening. Eventually, I just gave up and accepted it, but not in such a way that I actually understood my new body. So, my solution to remedy this is to take yoga. Yoga is something I wanted ...

I hate admitting that Kira is cute. I'm her mom and obviously biased, and I sometimes think it's tacky when mothers gush about their daughters. So I try my hardest to keep it to a minimum. This morning Kira did something so cute, I just can't contain myself. I was at the kitchen counter reading some emails and drinking my coffee, and she was at the kitchen table eating her breakfast. Suddenly, she points to the table and says, "Mommy, put-ta". I had no idea what she meant. My first guess is that she wanted me to "put" something on the table, but what, I don't know. I repeated what she said because when she knows that I'm misunderstanding, she'll adjust her pronunciation. "What's put-ta?" She looks away for a few minutes and I go back to emailing. She tries again, "Mommy, put-ta, peeeaaaas" (She pronounces "please" as "peas".) I could see she earnestly wanted something so I sat down next t...

The town of Wayland organized an event called Touch a Truck this weekend so I took Kira to check it out at the High School just down the road. To my surprise it was very busy and there were a lot more than just big trucks. Food There were food stations where they were selling cotton candy, snow cones, burgers and hot dogs. The lines were long enough that I didn't feel that it was worth the wait. I thought it would be a better use of our time by making the most of our time with the big trucks. Since they were making the cotton candy there, the air was filled with sparkles of sugar fleks. Entertainment There was a big air filled jumping thing, for lack of a better description. I know what they are - just don't know what they're called. The wait was pretty long and the kids jumping inside were generally older than Kira so I figured it would be too rough for her. I'm such a party pooper aren't I? There was a dunking station where donations go towards some good cause. I ...

For the past few days, Kira has been declarative about her yes-es and no-s (how do you pluralize yes and no?). Yesterday my mom took Kira to the park and when asked if it was time to leave, she said "no!". And when she asks for something, like her "folf", and I don't understand until after a few minutes that she wants her "wolf", she cries "yeah!" when I finally figure it out. Trevor has mentioned that he likes this new communication because he feels like he's actually having a conversation with her =) Kira is saying lots of new words, but most notably, "soup". It's notable because she doesn't pronouce it with an "s". She says it with a sound made in Chinese--actually, in Toisan. It's a weird sound that I think only Toisan people can make. I've tried to teach Trevor several times to make this sound, and he can't do it. It's the sound I make when I say the following words in Toisan: thre...

Kira can say any single syllable word that you present. For example, yesterday I told her to get off a pile of boxes, otherwise she will fall, and she said "fall" for the first time. And, after dinner I told Trevor to close the sliding door, and she said, "close". I can't really keep up with her new words, and I don't think I should post every time she says something new because it seems as though she's just repeating and not necessarily understanding. Sometimes it's clear she understands, like with "fall" and "close", but sometimes we can't tell. We had dinner with relatives on Friday, and one of them showed a video of his new daughter crawling. Trevor and Kira watched the video together and Trevor said, "wow, she moves and she's fast!", and Kira said "moves! fast!", but we don't think she knows what they mean! Surprisingly, she's starting to string words together! I say "surprising...

It's a language explosion! - push - phone - hair - moe (hair in Chinese)

Just a couple more: Cheerios tickle

strawberry deer stuck wet hawk owl farm broken fix gnee gnee (ear in Chinese) vroom vroom (sound a car makes) ouch peach bed hand swing

Turtle Monkey Ouch Mess Hoo Hoo (Rabbit in Chinese) O A M (the letters) That's all for now. PS - Happy Anniversary Bubber

Babycenter has always been my go-to website for information about EVERYTHING.  Not only do they have advice about health, diet, and illnesses, but they also have a lot of information about development, behavior, and parenting techniques!  I love that website. I found another one that is really great!  I just started reading it, so I have yet to discover all the juicy information they have. http://www.zerotothree.org

I think after a few more days of this, I will only make food diary posts when there is something worth mentioning.  For example, yesterday I made steamed eggs for Kira for the first time and she LOVED it!  I'll definitely be making that more often.  Here is what she ate yesterday and what she's eating this morning: Breakfast:  - french toast (just a few bites)  - strawberries  - 8 oz milk Lunch:  - rice porridge with chicken  - steamed broccoli Lunch was awful!  Kira had a temper tantrum because she wanted to feed herself, but I overheated the jook so it was way too hot for her to handle.  I tried to explain that to her, but she wouldn't listen.  Instead she had a FULL OUT temper tantrum.  It was really awful. Snack:  - apples  - 1 slice of muenster cheese Dinner:  - green beans (she only had a nibble or two)  - steamed egg with roasted chicken  - 1/3 c white rice Breakfast  - 1/2 peach  - mini croissant

These posts must be getting pretty boring!  Oh well, not very many people read this blog anyways. Breakfast:  - 4 oz milk  - buttered toast  - 4 large strawberries Lunch  - Chicken poridge with peas Dinner  - Linguini in butter  - Scrambled egg yolk  - Steamed broccoli  - Avocados Dessert:  - Apples Today was the first time I gave Kira apples.  I think many people would find that shocking and wonder why I hadn't given her apples sooner.  The only reason why I have not given Kira apples is because I wasn't confident that she could chew them!  Even today I sliced them paper thin so that she wouldn't swallow a big chunk.  She liked the apples. I usually give Kira a snack in the middle of the day, but these past few days I have not, as you may have noticed reading the food diaries.  Lately she has been waking up very early in the morning.  By the time 11 am rolls around, she's very very sleepy.  She will fall asleep in a chair if I let her.  A late morning nap means she wil...

Today's Menu Breakfast:  - 4 large strawberries  - 1/3 cup cheerios  - 8 oz milk I offered her a slice of cheese, but she didn't want it.  I'm thinking I might scramble an egg yolk for her to test her appetite. Lunch:  - rice poridge with chicken drumstick  - steamed broccoli  - water Dinner:  - stir-fried chicken thigh mixed with green and yellow zucchini  - rice We will also grill some lamb and maybe I will give her a taste of that, too. It's nice having her meals all planned out in the morning.  That way I'm not trying to think up of something at meal time!

Yesterday was an arduous day!  I had a dentist appointment at 9:30 am; that is very early.  Making it to the dentist at 9:30 means I need to leave the house at around 8 to drop off Logan at daycare and then to drop off Kira at my mom's house.  We ended up leaving at 8:30 instead of 8, and I arrived at the dentist office at 9:45.  It didn't help that I woke up several times in the early morning thanks to the heat and humidity.  We could leave our AC on all night, but doing that makes me feel wasteful. Before we left for the dentist, Kira had 8 oz of milk.  I took along with us some sliced peaches, one slice of cheese and about 1/2 cup of cheerios.  Usually, Kira is pretty good about eating her breakfast, but since she was at my mom's house, she was too distracted to eat.  She would eat the peaches or the cheese.  So my mom scrambled an egg for her, and she took a few small bites of that.  She did eat all of the cheerios though. For lunch she had left over chicken fingers fro...

Kira just had her 18-month doctor's appointment.  I was excited about it because I expected her to have gained more weight and be closer to the average weight for her size and age.  However, I was disappointed because the doctor says that she is even skinner this time than she was at her 15-month appointment!  He didn't tell me her exact percentile, but I'm not sure I want to know because last time she was in the 8th percentile!  I thought she would be closer to the average weight because she feels a lot heavier to me.  I have a hard time getting up the stairs with her.  And, some family members have mentioned that she looks a tiny bit chubbier.  Furthermore, she has a big appetite!  She eats well. Oh well.  Kira's pediatrician is not overly concerned.  He said that I shouldn't go out of my way too much to change her diet, but that I should use her healthy appetite to my advantage by replacing low calorie foods with high calorie foods.  We've heard this story be...

Pictures! Kira in June: (click the picture to see more) Kira in July:

I thought of one more annoying thing that Kira does.  She has figured out how to untwist the tops to tubes and bottles. Kira usually wakes me up in the morning by crying.  I pick her up out of her crib and take her back to my bedroom so I can brush my teeth and get dressed.  While I'm going about my business, she follows me into the bathroom and plays with all the objects in the bottom drawer of the vanity.  She's been doing this ever since we moved into the new house.  I have small bottles and tubes in that drawer; mostly travel size shampoos, lotions, etc.  She likes to take them out, stack them, toss them, examine them. But I have since had to take out everything with a twist cap.  No matter how tightly I twist the caps on, she manages to untwist them and squirt soap/lotion everywhere.  Not fun to clean up.  She does this with anything with a twist cap!

Baby Mess Hug Jee (chinese word for paper) Bett (chinese word for pen)

In no particular order: 1. Her great distain for going to sleep - She always puts up a fight when going to sleep!  And she is getting more and more persistent about not going to sleep!  A few days ago she cried for an hour in her crib before falling asleep. 2. Throwing - sometimes she throws things out of frustration; other times she throws things just because she feels like it.  Sometimes I make eye contact with her after she's thrown something heavy and she looks at me as if to say "I felt like it" 3. Playing with shoes - I have issues with this because shoes are dirty!  I walk into public bathrooms with my shoes.  Kira loves to touch shoes, put them on, and carry them around the kitchen.  I just bought an over-the-door shoe holder, but when I put it on the door, the door doesn't close.  Trevor needs to help me think of a solution for that thing. 4. Possessiveness over her bubbles - Kira was introduced to bubbles at a BBQ about a month ago.  Since then she has deve...

In no particular order: 1. She can say the name of all immediate members of each family - Mah Mah (paternal grandmother) - Yeh Yeh (paternal grandfather) - Buck Buck (father's older brother; she should be saying DAI BUCK for Brandon and YEE BUCK for Marc) - Poh Poh (maternal grandmother) - Gung Gung (maternal grandfather) - Yee Yee (mother's younger sister; should apply to both Patty and Natalie, but she calls Nat something else) - Naa Naa (Natalie) - Kiew Kiew (mother's brother; same name for both older and younger brothers) Confusing, huh?  Kira has it all figured out  =) 2. She dances; she has two basic moves - She bounces by bending her knees - She swings her arms around 3. She tells me when she's pooping; she actually tells me before she starts.  She might be ready for potty training!  I'm going to put her on the toilet and see how she reacts. 4. She talks on the telephone; and she is proficient with how the phone works.  She tells me who to dial, wai...

Trevor finally got a chance to go through the pictures from our vacation.  We came home from the cruise three weeks ago!  Weekends are just not long enough.  After going through several hundred pictures, we didn't really end up with that many we were willing to keep and share.  Here are some of the highlights. Day 1: Brooklyn Day 3: Bermuda (Day 2 was at sea...nothing interesting) Day 5: Puerto Rico (Day 4 was at sea) Day 6: St Thomas   Day 7: Grand Turk If you click on the pictures, it will take you to another website with even more pics from our vacation.

Since the day Kira was born, I have had trouble keeping her at a comfortable body temperature.  Until she was about 3 months old, she slept in a bassinet next to our bed.  I swaddled her and covered her with two blankets.  Despite that, I would almost always pick up a baby with chilly cheeks for night-time feedings.  I was at a loss for what I should do to warm her up.  It was the middle of winter when she was born, and our bedroom had vaulted ceilings, making it difficult to keep the room warm during the night. It got even worse when she moved into the guest room.  It too had vaulted ceilings, plus it had one fewer heating vent and significantly less body heat.  I did my best to dress her very warmly, especially because she was very good at kicking off the blankets.  A typical sleeping outfit would include a long-sleeve onesie, a lightweight long-sleeve shirt, tights, and a bunny suit (the one-piece, zip-up fleece with the footies).  I think towards the spring she actually developed a...

Dog Fish Moo (she says this when she sees a picture of a cow) Lion Horse Miu Miu (chinese word for cat) Bug Catch Gung Gung (chinese word for maternal grandfather) Kiu Kiu (chinese word for maternal uncle) Fah Fah (chinese word for flower) Bao Bao (chinese word for bread) Star Juice Faahn Faahn (chinese word for rice) Book Fork Naht Naht (chinese word for hot) Jook Jook (chinese word for porridge) Sooi Sooi (chinese word for water) Chick

No one ever really made completely clear how Kira would transition fully from formula/milk to solid food.  Maybe I have simply been ignorant. Kira has done very nicely moving to one nap per day and three bottles of milk per day, as described in a previous post.  I'm happy with the 24 oz of milk she drinks by the time she goes to bed!  Since I've cut down a bit on the milk she drinks, she's actually eating bigger meals!  And, even when I give her 8 oz of milk, I find that she gets hungry sooner.  It used to be that 6-8 oz of milk (or formula back in the day), would keep her sated for at least two hours.  But now she will get hungry even only 1 hour after her milk.  So, it's all starting to make sense.  As she drinks less milk, she eats more solids per sitting.  This way, I don't need to constantly be feeding her every two hours! Eureka.

Kira has been saying "frog" for a couple weeks now.  It actually started out as "ROCK", but we knew she meant "frog".  Now the "F" sound is clearer...and when she says "frog" it sounds like "fuck"! haha.

It has been a crazy week since we've been back from our cruise vacation.  Two days after we arrived home, we had out of town guests and we hosted a large brunch.  I still have the coffee percolator out on my countertop!  Adjusting back to Kira's schedule has been good and bad.  Finally, worst of all, Kira and I both have a cold.  Kira has been coughing and has a runny nose.  Otherwise, she behaves normally.  I also had a cough and runny nose, both of which are better today, but today was the worst day for me in terms of energy.  The entire day I was so fatigued.  Because I'm not performing at 100%, Trevor has been helping out a lot around the house, and thus, he has no time to sort and post process the pictures.  Don't worry, they're coming! There have been some changes to Kira's schedule, not because of the cruise, but thanks to the cruise, the changes have happened a lot quicker than I would have thought.  First of all, I'm trying to shift Kira to just one...

I follow so many interior decorating blogs, I can barely keep track of them.  Every now and then I come across pictures I really love and hope to emulate the same style in my own house.  The strange thing is, after I've collected over 300 images, very few of them are of dining rooms!  Maybe the reason why I am not attracted to dining rooms is because I never had one of my own until now.  Furthermore, that room is rarely visited unless the family is entertaining a large group, unlike the kitchen, which is where we have our dinner every night.  Even more sad, the only dining room images I have are from catalogs! If I had to label the style of dining room I like, I would say "traditional with a modern twist".  Besides that, I know I want a really huge dining table; one that seats at least 10, preferably 12.  Am I crazy?...I need to decide on chairs too!  I don't think we can afford such a dining room right now, so I guess I'm lucky in that I have plenty of time to br...

During the last weekend of May, Trevor and I attended two weddings in California.  We were originally going to bring Kira along but eventually decided that it would be too crazy to bring a toddler to California just for the weekend.  Furthermore, babies are not always welcome guests to weddings, and babies don't enjoy weddings anyways.  So we left her at home with Trevor's parents.  Both grandma and grandpa stayed a few nights at our home where Kira is most comfortable. The first wedding we attended was on Hermosa Beach in LA.  It was the first beach wedding for me, and it was absolutely lovely.  The bride is one of my best friends and I talked with her a lot about wedding planning.  Seeing everything come together was so nice!  And best of all, the bride was relaxed which added to her beauty that day!  It was definitely the sweetest wedding I've ever attended. The second wedding was the very next day in San Jose!  Trevor and I rented a car and drove for 6 hours to get th...

On the seventh day of our cruise, we arrived at Grand Turk where there was a gorgeous beach right by the dock.  It's proximity to the ship made it easy to just hop off the boat and walk onto white hot sand.  Although it was the last port in the Caribbean that we visited, it was the first time we set foot on a beach.  For Kira, the experience was both good and bad. First of all, Kira was not feeling well that day.  She had developed a cough (very mild) and a runny nose.  She was sneezing a lot causing snots to fly everywhere.  Right when we stepped off the boat, Kira struggled to shield herself from the blinding sunlight.  She didn't have any sunglasses and was so frustrated with the squinting, she eventually just shut her eyes.  As we got closer to our spot on the beach, I started getting nervous about her skin's exposure to the sun.  We were in such a rush to get off the ship, I didn't put any sunblock on her thinking I would have a chance once we found our beach spot....

I forgot to mention that Kira does a really good job feeding herself now.

Needless to say, this spring and early summer has been BUSY!  Here is what has been keeping us so occupied:  - moving, painting, unpacking  - yard work  - traveling  - and now, entertaining All this has kept me from blogging about Kira!  She's growing up fast.  I can officially say that she is talking now.  Here is a sampling of her latest words:  - Jeje (big sister)  - frog  - book  - mouth  - milk  - eyes  - nose Kira is very communicative.  She understands a lot of what we're saying even though she can't say it herself.  For example, I'll ask her if she wants to change her diaper.  If she is in the middle of making poop, she will adamantly say no.  Acutally, she says nooo, no no no, nooooo.  It's cute.  Otherwise, if she's ok with getting her diaper changed, she'll raise her arms so I can pick her up. She plays pat-a-cake very nicely.  She claps on beat and she loves the "rolling" part. She LOVES to draw...loves it, loves it, loves it.  She hold...

Here is a video of Kira walking on the ship.  We're walking in the long hallway back to our cabin.  It's tough enough walking on land!  I think she did pretty well on the cruise  =)

We've just arrived home after a very long vacation!  It feels so good to be home, especially after living in a small room on a cruise ship for nine days.  Yesterday I asked Trevor to describe his take on the trip with one word.  He said "long".  In a nutshell, it was a vacation like none we've ever had: the weather and scenery were gorgeous, the service was luxurious, and the family (ages 1.5 to 81 years) enjoyed a wide range of activities.  On the flip side, Kira was difficult at times: she slept the best in bed with Trevor and me, which left us bleary-eyed in the morning; she was extremely restless during dinner (I don't think we had even one peaceful dinner); and our daily activities revolved around Kira issues (e.g., no suntanning her delicate skin, going back to the cabin for naps, going to bed early).  I would not recommend taking a 16-month old baby on a cruise trip, but having said that, we enjoyed the trip thanks to lots of helping hands. It didn't he...

Hello  =)  New pictures of Kira.  Click the pictures below to see more.

Haven't been posting because we're enjoying our new digs, and so is Logan.  See for yourself!

Kira has been cranky, clingy, and needy lately. By the end of a long day, I'm totally exhausted from dealing with her whining and crying.  I think the main reason for her bad mood is her itchy gums and teeth.  Last weekend she woke up angry from her nap, chewing her fingers.  Poor thing.  I gave her a frozen wash cloth and she sucked on it for a few minutes; it seemed to help a little.  She has four teeth on top and four teeth on bottom already established.  Now she has THREE more coming in!  I just discovered the little tooth buds this morning by sticking my finger in her mouth. Here are some recent pictures of Kira: Besides growing new teeth, Kira is doing many big-girl things.  She can walk a lot faster; she chases Logan all over the kitchen.  It drives him crazy.  She loves reading.  I read to her for at least 30 minutes everyday.  We joined a playgroup; she's still warming up to socializing, but we're getting there.  And, we're easing her into taking showers rather...

She has a limited attention span, hence the fragmented video!

I heard that strawberries may cause allergic reactions in babies less than 12 months old.  I waited until after Kira's first birthday before giving her strawberries and she never had an allergic reaction.  But, does the quantity consumed matter?  I mean, if she eats enough strawberries, could she develop an allergy?  Kira can eat 10 strawberries in one sitting! Oh and I don't know why Trevor is talking about furnaces in the background.  I think he was talking on the phone.

Law School Franchise Management Specialized Nutrition Interiors CFA (+CFP?) Child Development Music Instruction

A list of vegetables that Kira likes:  - broccoli (helps)  - sweet potatoes (helps)  - zucchini (helps)  - squash (makes it worse) A list of veggies that Kira dislikes:  - peas  - green beans  - peppers Fruits that Kira likes:  - strawberries (helps)  - raspberries (don't know if it helps)  - bananas (makes it worse)  - avocados (makes it worse)

Kira's doll's name is "Baby".  In this video, she's kissing Baby; that's the "mmm-mah" part.  It's the first time I've seen her touch Baby's nose and then touch her own nose.  Is that a developmental step? This video also demonstrates her getting-up abilities!

Hello. The little Lai Family is super-duper busy...and that's saying it lightly.  We'll be back soon with lots of stories.  In the mean time, here's a video of Kira.  It's a good example of her mood on a typical morning.  We usually wake up at around 9 or 9:30.  Dad is usually at work already.  Mom (that's me) hears Kira's crying, gets out of bed, and makes Kira a bottle (while still in PJs).  After Kira finishes her bottle, she's really happy and talkative.  She will sit on Mommy's lap and chit chat for at least 5 minutes.  Then we do a diaper change.  Then Kira goes in the play pen while I wash up and get changed.  Then I make myself a cup of coffee while Kira sits in her high chair.  Cue the video:

Kira finally pooped twice this morning. Thank goodness; her tummy and guts must feel better, although I think her bum hurts because she cries when I wipe it. I'm still mildly annoyed about the constipation and feeding because I feel like I caused it no thanks to my "resources". Bleh. I think Kira is exhausted from the whole ordeal. She's sleeping a lot; even straight through her mealtimes. The fact that she's sleeping instead of eating is bugging me a little bit, but I'm doing my best to keep calm and carry on. On the left is the theoretical schedule, and on the right is the actual schedule: 8 am - Wake up, 6 oz milk, back to sleep---check 9 10      -Wake up eat breakfast-----------------Continued sleeping 11                                                             Woke up ate oatmeal & pears 12       -4 oz milk---------------------------------4 oz milk 1 pm - Nap---------------------------------------Nap 2         -Lunch--------------------------...

I'm really annoyed right now. REALLY REALLY ANNOYED. Kira is constipated. It's awful for many reasons: - she's visibly struggling and uncomfortalbe - there's nothing I can do to fix the problem quickly - she cries randomly, and this includes during the night She's been constipated for about 2 days. She pooped one little poop today, and one little poop yesterday. I don't really consider those real poops. I think her last real poop was on Friday. I looked up "constipation" on one of my favorite websites for baby information, babycenter.com. Here is an excerpt: [One reason why your baby may be constipated is] Eating too many low-fiber foods. If your child eats lots of milk, cheese, yogurt, or peanut butter, for instance, and not enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, she could wind up constipated. Avoid giving your child too many foods that have a binding effect. These include bananas, cooked carrots or squash, and large quantities of dairy pr...

I'm so addicted to this song it's not even funny.

Kira turned 1 year old on Jan 20th!  We had a party for her on Saturday, the 17th, and it was FUN!  I invited my mommy friends (mostly former co-workers), and their babies and husbands.  In total, we had 19 guests.  I was worried about space and food, but luckily it worked out fine.  Here are some pictures: (click the picture to see more) Unfortunately, Trevor didn't take many pictures of the decorations.  Here is a picture that one of the guests took.  (I will source it if she wants me to, but usually she likes to remain anonymous on the web, so I'll leave it unsourced for now.)  The paper lanterns are Martha Stewart, and I purchased them at Michaels.  The Happy Birthday banner is homemade, modeled after something I saw on Martha Stewart's website. For lunch we had my mom's wontons, sticky fried rice, teriyaki shrimp, broccoli chicken, stir fried veggies, salad, baby soup, fruit salad, Konditor Meister cake, and apple pie.  Mmm...it was a great menu.  I had tons of he...

More info on toddler nutrition: Children's Hospital (a lot of info on behavior, but also some food group examples) iVillage (clear explanation of calories, and also easy to read discussion about behavior) Dr. Sears (#15 was most useful for me) I'm undecided about peanut butter versus nutella.  They both have a lot of sugar (nutella more than peanut butter), and peanut butter has more salt than nutella.  Maybe I'll just give it to Kira once in a while. Another fact I came across that I'm having difficulty coming to terms with is skipping meals.  Several websites say it's normal for toddlers to skip meals and that over the span of a few days, it all balances out.  But, I have a hard time letting Kira skip meals when her doctor is telling me she needs to beef up. Ugh.  I have to cut this post short.  Kira is dropping banana slices on the floor.

Wow, it has been a long time since I've blogged about anything. I need to do some catch up!! There's a lot I want to write about to let you guys know what we've been up to, as well as for documentation purposes for me to look back someday. Some of these topics include: - traveling with baby (summary of our Florida trip) - holidays with baby (Christmas and Birthdays - yes, plural) - discipline (napping and going out) - Kira's development (details from her 12-mo appt, new stuff she can do) - thinking about going back to work (and starting day care for Kira) For now, my new obsession is researching toddler nutrition. I've been scouring the web for information about how to feed my baby. There's so little out there!! Right now, Kira is in a "transitional stage", where she is no longer dependent on formula, and she is starting to eat more adult foods; however, there are still some foods from which she needs to stay away. Confusing already, huh?? So, f...

Its been a very busy few weeks leading up to the Christmas and New Years holidays. We've been busy with shopping, baking cookies, and meeting regularly with lots of family. I just got around to post processing pictures from Christmas in Boston - I still need to get to the New Years pictures while down here in sunny Florida. The weather has been perfect and I've gotten in 2 golf rounds in the past week that we've been here. That's nearly as many times as I played during last summer's season. Anyways here are the pictures: Over the last few weeks Kira has been learning new things...here is a list: Imitation - by copying what we do she has learned some new things. She sticks her tongue out when we stick our tongues out. When we sniff her diaper she does the same. Now when we tell her to kiss her toys she goes in with her mouth to the toy and makes a "muahhhh" sound. She is saying a lot more words. She says the following "Mum mum" meaning food ...