Tootsie Roll

Baby B found a tootsie roll from Baby C's Valentine's Day stash. She instinctly knew it was thegood stuff. By the time I pryed open her mouth to fish it out, this was the result.

Amazing what damage only six teeth can do!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Baby B @ 15 Months

I just realized it's been a while since I've blogged about the kids and their developmental progress.  First up - Baby B.

Baby B is growing up way too fast! She crawled at 10 months and walked by 12 months. Currently at 15 months, she is walking pretty well. She is making more "noise" now and trying to communicate verbally, although she uses baby sign language as her main form of communicate, which is pretty cool. Some of the signs she uses are: milk, eat, water, more, open, please, thank you, wash hands, hello/bye bye, blow kiss, all done, duck, monkey, bear, dog, and bunny. She also says the words: nai-nai (Chinese for milk), mama, dada, and this/that, phone, and hello (when holding said phone). Baby B is definitely using a combination of verbal and body language to make her wants and needs known. Her comprehension of things far surpasses her signing/verbal vocabulary. She just amazes me everyday with her ability to understand the world around her.

She wants more water in her can...

My pediatrician says that the "terrible twos" is the second year of life, which is right NOW...and I totally agree. There is so much that goes on after kids go mobile...a lot of frustration with verbal skill development, gross and fine motor skill development, etc. Though a tough stage of development, it is one of the most exciting ones, and I am enjoying/savoring every moment because it really does pass by so quickly.

Baby B going for it...

Eating habits:  Baby B's been on solids @ 6-7 months.  As with Baby C, we did not do purees, but just fed her table foods.  We started her on whole milk @ 12 months and she is down to nursing 2x/day now.  She is generally a good eater and will usually try a variety of things.  She, of course wants everything her sister is eating...and as a result, I have had to start her on foods/drinks I would have liked to have delayed, such as juice (undiluted), and other sweets, etc.

Let's play ball!

Sleep patterns: She slept good until about 4 months, then month 4 - 11.5 were BRUTAL, basically waking every 3-4 hours around the clock. I won't go into details, but as you can imagine, I was a zombie. When she FINALLY slept though the night, I felt like a new woman. Of course there are never enough hours in a day, but I feel a bit more normal because I have a few hours to myself before my bedtime now.

Naps continue to be a struggle, she will only sleep in the car. I used to have another option, which was the baby carrier (Ergo, Bjorn, etc), but since becoming mobile, I struggle with getting her to stay in a carrier now. So needless to say, I've put a ton of miles on my car (my second home), and spent a lot of money on gas, but naps are priceless, right?! Well, more like survival I guess. It's not a habit I am proud of, but I just keep in mind that this phase will pass! =P

How could you be mad at a face like this?

I will try to do updates on the kids more often...but you know, life happens!

Runaway B!

Sickies!

Baby B woke up this AM with a low fever coupled with the runs...which resulted in an awful diaper rash.  Let's just say that we've been doing lots of extra laundry and hand washing. I am actually also under the weather with a cough and stuffy nose, but you know, no rest for the weary mom...!

Baby C's appetite has also been horrible (more than usual) and of course that leads to grouchiness.

So needless to say, we had to cancel all our weekend plans, which I am totally bummed about...but we have been very fortunate this winter and none of us have gotten real sick besides the obligatory winter sniffles.

Let's hope this bug flicks outta here fast!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Whoa Speed Racer Barbie!

We've been enjoying super nice weather over the past week, so we've been spending some time outside.  Unfortunately, our backyards are not very kid friendly so thank goodness for our long driveway.

Here is a picture of Baby B speeding down our driveway with her Barbie quad...max 2.5 mph!  This was Baby C's old quad and we will be picking up a "big girl" one for her very soon!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve!

So it's almost the year of the tiger...the year that both Daddy J and I were born in. Which means it's been 3-12 year cycles since that tiger year...which only means one thing, we turn 36 this lunar year! ACK! =)

We got some great news. Our good friend AW had his baby boy AMW. Yipee! He was about a week overdue and was born via induction at a healthy 8 lbs 4 oz. We can't wait to meet him!

We are super traditional or anything, but you are not supposed to clean on new year's day, so we got a lot done today.

We started the day @ Doug's for brunch, and when Daddy J took Baby B out for a nap, I got to spend some one-on-one time with Baby C, which I have been wanting to do for a while. We made some Chinese green onion pancakes. They did not turn out great, but edible. Regardless, it was fun "cooking" with Baby C, and nice to give her my undivided attention.
Today was a beautiful sunny day, so we spent some time outdoors...cleaning. Since Baby B is becoming more and more independent, this allowed me to get some house stuff accomplished. I managed to scrub down all the outdoor furniture, including the kiddie playhouse (dang that thing has a lot of shingles that hold a lot of dirt). Daddy J replaced the pond pump (YAH! We'll be able to SEE our fish again soon!), and I got to trim up some of the foliage around/in the pond. I also hosed down the backyard - there is something so refreshing about hosing stuff off...just wish I could hose the INSIDE of the house!

Tonight, we had dinner with Jerry's family tonight and enjoyed many yummy dishes a la my MIL. No "traditional" Chinese New Year stuff, but all still good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Another year, another Valentine's day. What to do on this special day with two kids in tow? The zoo of course! Duh. =) Then dinner with the kids and some champagne and a DVD after they went down.

It was a beautiful sunny crisp day, perfect for the zoo. Here are a few pictures:

Daddy J is not a big fan of Valentine's Day, so over the years, I have learned to set my expectations low. Plus now you throw two kids in the mix and really, its not much different that any other weekend. Is that kinda sad to say? I like to think that we celebrate our love everyday, or whatever gets me through this "over commercialized" holiday, right? LOL

Daddy J did buy me two beautiful heart pendants with the girls' initials on each and their birthstone. He intended them for my charm bracelet, but alas, the clasps don't fit, so I will probably wear them on a necklace. He tries, he really does. <3

Chocolate covered shortbread cookies a la Costco...so good!

Baby C had a Valentine exchange at her preschool, here is a picture of her signing all her cards. I was really dreading all the candy she was gonna bring home, but it wasn't too bad. I am letting Baby C have one treat a day, so this stash/bribes should be good for a while. LOL!

Baby B's New Trick

New trick Baby B learned. Notice she signs "all done" after her performance, and pushes the Mama Paparazzi away? LOL!

My Morning...

Last night, Baby B woke up at 1am screaming something ugly...for no particular reason. I hate it when that happens, but oh wells, I guess babies are random that way. =P

The morning started as usual, she seemed to be in a better mood, then things turned ugly real fast.  I tried everything - food, milk, carrying her, tylenol (she was poking at her gums), toys, going outside, nothing worked.

 So we hit the road and she was asleep within 5 minutes.  Geez, what a morning, I got nothing done, and now I am stuck in the car with a sleeping B Monster I dare not wake...I need a nap too...!!!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Artsy Fartsy

Today we went to check out an exhibit at The Village Theatre Art Gallery in Danville.  They had a new exhibit called: The Light Fantastic - Irish Stained Glass Art in additon some kids stained glass themed art projects.  Here is a picture of the fam enjoying a "private" tour of the exhibit.

We don't get out to museums, etc too often with the kids, but try to when they have kid specific activities to expose them to different things.

Next on my list is the Chabot Space Center, and eventually the Academy of Sciences in SF.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

My Night Out

It's been SOOO long since I've gone out for fun times without the kids.  I had a chance to "party" a bit last Friday.  My friend Gail was having a fashion show and after-party at the Supperclub in SF.  The show started at 11:30pm, so it was perfect.  I put Baby B down and headed out to the city (leaving Daddy J and the kiddies at home).  I met up with my friend EW and her friend KRN and started the evening properly (Grey Goose shots with cranberry chasers)...and continued that "theme" all night!

Excuse the quality of the photos, I only had my cellie on me. =)

My friend EW and me on the dance floor.  I don't think we've partied since my bachlorette party!  Oh my!

Me and EW along with her buddy KRN, who is  few years younger, I felt a bit "cougar-ish" that night, but it was all good.

My friend, KC was there too, she was one of the photographers for the shindig.

The fashion show was fab.  Great design and fabrics.  I am so proud of  Gail!  Here is her website and a few shots from the show:

 

  

 

After the fashion show, we tried to dance a bit, but house music was really not our thang, so we ended up leave the Supperclub and walked down the street to Manor West, which played hip hop....oh so much better!  We stayed and danced there for a while and left because we had to move our cars at 2am (annoying!).  We then headed to Japantown for some Korean food (sounds weird, huh?)...and I got home at about 4am.  Whew!  What a night!  It felt refreshing to get out and "cut loose" a bit..even if for a few hours, and forget the mommy responsibilities that have defined me for the past 3.5+ years.  BUT, it also felt good to get home to the fam.  =)

Library Time

I try to take the kids to the library at least once a week.  The new CV library is a lot bigger than the old one, although not walkable from our house anymore. =(

On our last trip the girls found a big bucket of dinosaurs to play with.  Baby C is currently really into this PBS show called "Dinosaur Train".  It's a super cute show and of course educational.  I am hoping she is still into it by the time her 4th (gasp!) birthday rolls around and they will have some licensed merchandise I can waste my money on. =)

We also pick up a stash of books for Baby C to read.  She officially started karate and they have an ongoing reading program.  You can earn an orange star for your uniform for every 10 books you read.  You should see how many stars some kids have...their lapels are full and overflowing onto their uniforms!  But then again, age appropriate books are pretty easy reads for the 3-6 age group! Hah!

Baby C doing self-checkout of her books.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre