Friday, August 31, 2012

"Smelling the Roses"

Lina <3 love to take walks around the neighbor. Walking is what Mommy does best. You go in a Baby Bjorn carrier, nice and secure. Mommy usually put long sleeves on you because the sun's ultraviolet rays are a killer and too strong at times. We usually take walks before 9am or after 3:30pm when the sun's ultraviolet ray's are not that strong. We took a long walk yesterday morning and your cheeks got a little tan lol. Lina <3 looked at the cars going by in the streets, the houses in the  neighborhood, the stores, the neighbors, and "smelled the flowers". Mommy point out different flowers out to you for to look at, majority of the time you do not look at the direction I am pointing at. We listened to different noises that the outside world makes, such as the sound of the cars going by, the airplanes flying over us, birds chirping, and dogs barking.

 Here's are some flowers that Lina <3 enjoyed looking at or Mommy likes lol

A Very Needy Lina

I think separation anxiety is starting to kick in more and more. Every time Mommy is out of your sight, you cry very loudly but not for long because I come right back to your side. You get restless if Mommy is not around. You should know that Mommy is never too far away. Mommy understands that this is something you must go through and will try to make this as easy as possible for you. I  do not leave for very long, few minutes at best and if it is longer, Daddy is always there to watch you. Daddy always said that whenever Mommy is not there with you, you look frantically for me, or look constantly at the direction where I had walked off in. It is so cute and Mommy feel so love.

Besides crying for me when I am not there, you also want to be held all the time. Once Daddy or I pick you for a few minutes and put you down, you cry to be held again. Sometimes it is fine for Daddy or I to hold you for a longer period of time but other times, it is hard because we want to do stuff, and let you play on your own. Playing on your own is not a concept that you grasp easily. After a few minutes of playing by yourself, you look around the room and see Daddy or Mommy and come right to us to play. Playing by yourself in crib is fun for you, and can play by self longer than on the floors.

You are so needy lately. It is tiresome but nothing Mommy can not handle because Mommy loves the time we spend together, either crying, playing, holding you, smiling, or laughing. You demand constant attention from us, particularly from Mommy (since I am home with you all day). I hope that you will learn to play on your own easier, and know that Mommy is always here for you. Mommy loves my needy Lina <3

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The Spice Rack

Getting to know one of your senses, smell. Lina <3, we smell with our nose. Your nose is the cutest nose. One day in the kitchen while Mommy is cooking, we decide to smell the spice rack. So get your little nose ready... and here we go...

You smelled cinnamon, Italian seasoning, black pepper that made you sneeze a lot, lol, paprika, parsley. garlic powder, you did not like so much, onion powder, and cumin powder, it's a West Indian thing, (from your father's side, lol), and you seemed to like it.

We did not try all these smells in one go. We spent a few days with the spice rack so that her little nose does not become overwhelmed.
(smelling cumin powder)
(smelling cinnamon powder)




















PorPor's House...

Lina <3, you love spending time with your PorPor (grandmother in Cantonese). We like going to her house and try to go as often as we can. Of course, we get to see and spend time with GongGong (grandfather in Cantonese) and Kauhfu (uncle in Cantonese).
PorPor makes yummy things for Daddy and Mommy to eat, but not for you yet. You did try PorPor's brown rice there for the first time, and you liked it. We usually go there for dinner. Try to make it there earlier than dinnertime so you can spend more time playing with PorPor and GongGong. Kauhfu is usually not home most of the time. You still do not go to Kauhfu or GongGong easily and tend to fuss when they try to pick you up. With GongGong, you are warming up to him. You love it when PorPor plays with you, and holds you. PorPor likes to give you stuff to play with that Mommy do not approve of it, like fruits and vegetables you have not try yet because I am afraid of allergic reactions. PorPor makes you laugh, smile, and giggle. You are crawling around the floor of her house and had fun exploring.

Crawling Everywhere

Lina <3, you are crawling now, Yay! It was fun watching you learn how to crawl the right way (on your hands and knees), instead of slithering around the floor on your big belly. But you are a little trouble maker. You crawl everywhere. EVERYWHERE! It was exciting to watch you crawl around and explore the living room, dining room, kitchen, and in the hallway but it is troublesome and tiresome. Actually it is still amazing to watch you explore new things and different areas of the house but Mommy have to keep a closer eye on you. It is a little exhausting chasing after you (okay, I admit it, it is very exhausting keeping up with you, lol but I love it!)

This last couple of weeks you learned how to crawl underneath things, like the coffee table, your highchair, the dining room table, the kitchen table, your activity gym, and between our legs. It was funny (and cute) watching you try and go underneath things because in the beginning you had a hard time figuring out how to lower you head so you do not bump your head on the top of things. Now you do it so effortlessly, but sometimes you get trap underneath the table and Mommy have to come and rescue my baby. You also crawl over things, your toys, Daddy's and Mommy's legs or body, pillows and different obstacles that Mommy set up for you. You can crawl around things if you see that you can not crawl over it.

You crawl to me now :) At first, you would only crawl to Daddy. You also follow me if I leave the room, it so cute. You follow me if I am not sitting right there with you on the floor and playing with you. Mommy asked you to come, and majority of the time you do :) I love it! But there's a downside, you crawl so fast that, if I turn my head from where you are playing, you already moved half way across the room.
(slithering on your big big belly, and chasing after the soft ball)
(slithering on you belly around to your toys)
(finally crawling the right way, on hands and knees... Yay!)
(went underneath the activity gym and could not get out, it was so cute watching you figure it out lol)
(got half your body from underneath the activity gym)
(dragging the activity gym around the floor, as you tried to pull yourself out from underneath it)
(Mommy turned around for a second and you were already in another room, crawled so fast)
(crawling in hallway upstairs, and looking to explore the bedrooms)
(crawled underneath kitchen table)
Crawling, I had been waiting for you to do this ever since you were slithering on the floors. It is milestone but it is also a handful :) As tiresome as it is, chasing you around as you crawl, I love it so much. That's what Mommy do for her baby.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Running Errands With Mommy...

Lina <3 loves being outside the house :) We do not go out that often. When we do, we do big things. Lina <3 ran some errands with Mommy. You were friendly with strangers that we meet when we were running around. You smiled and stared at them as well as made faces. We went to the bank and the supermarket. Of course, this is not Lina's <3 first time at either places because wherever Mommy goes, Lina <3 goes.

At the Bank
(Lina <3 "works hard for the money")

At the Supermarket
(Lina <3 looking for snacks to buy, just kidding)
(hmm, watermelon, Lina <3 helped Daddy pick out watermelon)


Tackling the Playground

Lina <3, you went on the slides for the first time. Mommy was right there with you, sliding down the slides with you. I had let slide you down the slides by yourself and you cried hysterically for a few minutes even after Mommy picked you up. After the slides, we climbed and jumped around. You did enjoyed watching the children play on the playground.

Regular Slide
(getting ready to slide down)
(going down the slide)

Bumpy Slide
(uh-oh, bumpy slide here we come)
(ow for Mommy, bumpy slides hurt Mommy, but Lina <3 had fun as Mommy slid down and said "wee wee")

Climbing with Mommy's help
(trying to climb like a big girl)
(posing for a picture)

Jumping with Mommy's help
(Up Up Lina <3 goes)
(Bouncy, bouncy)
(Lina <3 laughing)

Lina <3 likes being in the playground. We  should go more often but unfortunately, we do not have one close by to go daily.  You love being outdoors. Being at home too much makes you restless. Okay Lina <3 we'll have Daddy go out with us on the weekends :)

Took a Long Drive

We took a long drive. We took in the scenery, at least Daddy and I did. Most of the drive, Lina slept, which was good. We saw the sunrise. It was pretty. I do not think that you can see it, probably because the way your car seat is situated. The car seat seem so low, I wonder if you see anything at all lol.
(Morning sunrise)
As we drive over some of the bridges, we saw the skyline of the Manhattan. It so pretty. Lina definitely did not see this because she was sleeping. Most of the morning, you slept for almost four hours.
(Manhattan skyline)
(Lina sleeping)
When you were up and about in the car seat, we passed a lot of trees, houses in the hill, and the beautiful blue sky. You were busy playing with your toys that were attached to the car seat, so Mommy took some pictures for you.
(Lina <3 up and about in car seat, trying to see outside when you are not playing)
(pretty clouds)
(lake)


After a few hours of being in the car, we stop at a rest stop. It was good to get out of the car, and stretch our legs :) Lina <3 could not wait to jump up from your car seat as soon as I took the seat belts off lol. Oh, a needed diaper change! Mommy always changes you in the car, instead of the public restrooms (eww, yucky germs).
(at a rest stop, time for a picture lol)
Back in the car, and here comes the scenery, but you started to fuss, and got restless. Every few hours, you were given your organic Morning Os (it is like Cheerios) and bottles of breast milk or purified water to eat. Sometimes, you cried really loud and screamed. It was hard to calm you down when you refused your food, breast milk and purified water; when you do not like my singing. Sometimes you would scratch and scratch. Daddy would talk to you and it would work. Or Daddy would put on soothing music on the radio.
(hill of trees)
(mountain in the background)
Almost home, we saw the sunset :) Of course Lina <3, you were sleeping. It was good thing that you were sleeping because you had become really restless, and fussy during the drive back home. And it took almost a long time for you to fall asleep. 
(sunset)
Overall, Lina <3 was good during the rides going but coming home was a tough one because she was overtired and tired of being her car seat. We did make some stops but it was not enough for you. Yay, our first long drive! Lina <3, you did well !

Subway Ride and Manhattan, NYC

Aug 13, 2012 was a very busy and hectic Monday for Lina <3. We spent all day outside the house from dawn to dusk. You ate breakfast at home, and out we went. Early that morning, Daddy drove us to PorPor's (grandmother in Cantonese) house because she had an dentist appointment in Manhattan, NYC and had wanted me to accompany her.

We took the train for the first time in Brooklyn, NY. Mommy had not taken the train in such a long time and everything looked different. It was actually so pretty. You had a great time looking around the sites. The coming and going of the trains while waiting for our train platform did not scare you at all.
Waiting for the Train
(PorPor, Lina <3, Mommy on train platform)
(with PorPor)

While on the train, you were not scared at all. You like being in new places and situations because it gives you the chance to look around. The noise that the train made when it open and close the door was interesting to you. The children and adults on train were also intriguing.  Mommy was worried that you would be afraid of the train because it can be so noisy, and loud.
On The Train
(on the train)

Lina <3, we went underground...ohhh ohhh, you did not notice, I bet lol. Sometimes the train goes underground and that is where we have to go on another train. You had such a busy time watching everyone rush back and forth to wherever they were going. So many trains went by before ours came.
Transferring Trains
(on train platform waiting for another train)

My poor baby had such an early day, that she was exhausted by the time the other train came. It is funny that you would sleep so easily on me while riding the train because you are such a poor sleeper.
Asleep on the Train
(asleep on the Mommy, something you have not done after 3months old)

To our destination, PorPor's dentist appointment that took too long. Got there at 11am and did not leave until 5:30pm because the dentist was so backed up and busy!... busy BS-ing (Lina <3, Mommy hoped that you do not find out what that means, lol). We would had left earlier but Lina <3 was being so good, and quiet; and we did not want to come back. You were enjoying watching all the people in the waiting room. You even interacted with some of the people sitting near us. That is the first time, you ever interacted with strangers by smiling, and staring at them for a long time. Usually you get shy and look around after a while. You also took a walk in the hallway, with Mommy supporting you. You also waved at Mommy for the first time. This the first time you were waving... (Milestone! Yay!) Mommy was so happy that you waved to me because I had been trying to show you for a while. You had fun at the dentist's office. You spent a lot of time with PorPor :) which you both love. The crazy thing was that dentist's office's restroom was not baby friendly at all. There was no changing table, Mommy had to squat and change you on my  lap because there was no way in hell was I putting you on the floor, or anywhere in that yucky restroom! I fed you your organic Morning Os (it is like Cheerios) and you breast milk from the bottle. I also nursed with a big scarf around us (yes Lina <3, Mommy breast fed you in public).
At the Dentist's Office for PorPor
(being hugged by PorPor)
(with PorPor)
(learned how to wave, and waved at Mommy for first time)

After we left the dentist's office, we took a long walk over by City Hall and into Chinatown.
City Hall, NY
(water fountain)

After a long long long day outside, guess who was waiting to pick us up and take us home? Daddy.  After we got home, you slept about almost 4hrs (the longest you slept in a long time).