Sarah's New Ride

I took advantage of the break in the rain to take Sarah on an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood in her new ride...

After much research and "wishy-washiness" (if there is such a word), we finally bought Sarah the Uppababy 2011 G-Luxe stroller.  Her infant stroller, which she outgrew a month ago was the Graco Snap-N-Go stroller frame, which we used alongside with the car seat.  We loved it and we got a lot use out of it. But since we changed her infant car seat out to the Britax convertible car seat, we can no longer use that stroller.

As you can imagine, we were overwhelmed by the many varieties of baby strollers in the market.  There are some important criteria that we really wanted and some that were "nice to have."  Sometimes the more bells and whistles the stroller has, the heavier it gets - or the price sky rockets.  So we finally chose this stroller because it fits our needs.  Below is listed in the order of importance to us.  

1. Light weight - this stroller only weighs 11 lbs. 
2. 5-point harness - secures Sarah from falling when leaning forward
3. Reclines to 120 degrees - convenient for her to nap in
4. Basket & cup holder - it may sound silly, but this was a must for us!  
5. Not too expensive - only $190 (we bought it with a 15% discount + free shipping + no tax!) 

There are additional features that came with this stroller that I really liked:  

1. Full size seat at 13" wide, removable and washable
2. Suitable up to 50 lbs
3. Turns easily and good suspensions that comes with ergonomic handles 
4. Stroller folds us easily and can stand upright when folded (don't need to put it on the floor)
5. Huge canopy for Sun protection

This stroller is still not perfect - what would be nice to add is a peak-a-boo window on the canopy so I can see what Sarah is doing in the front.  This stroller doesn't have that.  And it also doesn't have a snack tray or a bar in front of the seat for the baby to hold on to.

But so far it's working for us. This is one of the top rated umbrella stroller out there.  Sarah seems to be enjoying her new stroller.  She likes to sit and be able to look around. She hasn't slept in it yet though so don't know how that'll go.  Look forward to using this stroller for years to come.

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Restaurants in Hawaii

Despite hating the long work days and being away from my family, there are great perks when it comes to business travel.  One of them is fine dining.  Because our meals can be expensed, we have the option to go to nicer restaurants that we would not have gone to if the cost came out of our own pockets.  I'm a budget-conscious person by nature, so I  am usually fine with good food, expensive or not.  However, some of my co-workers are a little finicky, so they opted for the coolest restaurants on island.  I tagged along (because I hate dining by myself), and here are a few of the restaurants we tried throughout the week that are really worth mentioning!

(1) Blu Water Grill - my friend brought me here because it was in Hawaii-kai and away from Waikiki. Their food was very good.  I especially liked the Kulua Pork Quesadilla, although the Mango-Guava glazed baby back ribs were also very yummy.  This is a local Hawaiian hang out, a great place for classic dishes.

(2) Merchanko-Tei - This is a sushi restaurant that gives you HUGE portions. I know, Huge portions and sushi usually don't go together, but it is possible, at this place!  The nirigis all have a generous cut of fresh raw fish. I would totally go back here again, even on my own dime.

(2) Morimoto - This restaurant is inside the trendy Edition Hotel on Ala Moana.  As you know, this restaurant is owned by Chef Masaharu Morimoto, one of the Iron Chefs. We went there with a hope that the food will wow us, but I was seriously underwhelmed by the dishes. We ordered a lot of appetizers and a main entree.  Of all the things we ordered, I only enjoyed the wagyu carpaccio and the braised cod.  The others were just "ok." Great presentation, but some of them were simply not that special.

(3) Nobu Waikiki  - I saved this for last because it IS the BEST restaurant of all.  Every dish is an OMG-delicious, and I am not joking!   The taste, texture, and presentation are superb.  Everything was delicious.  Dishes don't come cheap here, but I think it's worth just to try it and experience it. Your taste buds and tummy will be on Cloud 9!

New baby in town!

On March 15th, I welcome the newest addition to our extended family. Hailey is my 3rd sister's newborn daughter.  She is beautiful and looks just like her brother, Tyler. I can't wait to meet her when I get back to SF!

Aloha from Hawai'i

I have been quiet on blogger these past 2 weeks because I'm currently on a business trip in Hawaii (Oahu).  I arrived last Wed, Mar 9 and I leave on Friday, Mar 18.  I've been to Hawaii many times before and it is always bitter sweet to come here for work.  It is nice because Hawaii is so beautiful and gorgeous; there is really nothing not to love.  But when you come here to work, the attitude changes.  Every day I wake up early, get on email, attend meetings all day long, go to dinner, come back to the hotel room and then still have to do my regular office work.  The work day becomes super long, and I have no time to enjoy the beautiful scenery around me.  

This trip was especially hard because it is my first work trip being away from Sarah. I miss her dearly, especially during the weekend when I think about what she's doing.  I have Skype on my laptop so I get to see what she is doing on live video streaming, which is the best thing ever.  Sarah can hear my voice and still smiles and laughs when I call out her name.  Seeing her on Skype brings so much joy to my day!!  Today, I saw her take a bath, drink her last milk, and fall asleep in daddy's arms.  Such sweet moments.  

One more day, and I shall be flying back home. I can't wait to pick her up from daycare and seeing her excitement!     

Lullabies

When I was on maternity and at home with Sarah everyday, I had to quickly learn the lyrics to the popular children's lullabies so I could sing to her. Just today, it dawned on me how sad and how cruel and terrible some of lyrics are!  Oh my, some of these should rated for R for violence.  Maybe you just haven't noticed, but here are some, just to name a few:

• London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down  
• The three blind mice got their tails cut with a carving knife (by the farmer's wife)
• None of the stuff in "Hush Little Baby" works, so papa gotta to go buy something else
• The itsy bitsy spider got washed out by the rain
• When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all  (Rock a bye baby) - absolutely horrifying to a baby trying to sleep! 
• Oh my darling Clementine - thou art lost and gone forever...dreadful sorry, Clementine
• The poor meatball that was on top of spaghetti (all covered with cheese) got lost when someone sneezed
• It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry; the sun was hot, I froze to death...Oh Susanna, don't you cry for me!

Happy 9-month Birthday

Silly girl, you turned 9 months old today!!  

Sarah's Giggles

Sarah loves to laugh and she laughs all the time. But the hard part is to capture those moments on video because Sarah is extremely camera-shy.  Once she sees the camera, she freezes.  Her smile turns stoic instantly.  So I am happy that I finally got a decent video of Sarah giggling.  Enjoy this video…

And if you’re wondering what I was doing on the other end of the camera to make her laugh… I wasn’t making funny noises or had any toys with me. I was purely just shaking my head side by side.  Yep, that did it.  She’s just silly like that.

Helpless

Last week on Presidents' Day Monday, Sarah started to have diarrhea. Since then, she has been pooping 5-6 times a day.  While some babies do poop 5-6 times per day, this is not normal for Sarah. Since she was a baby, she was well-trained to poop once a day, in the morning, during her 1st feeding of the day.  After she started eating solids, she pooped one extra time during the evening hours between 5-6pm.  Yes, she was that consistent.  So when she pooped more than normal, it concerned me.  Worst was that her stool were watery.  Other than the diarrhea, she showed no other signs of discomfort.  She continued to laugh and play as normal. Her appetite did not change, no fever, and her drool were still as plentiful as before - meaning she was not dehydrated.

I brought her in to see the doctor on Friday.  There was little he could do. There is no "medicine" to treat diarrhea. He gave us a cup to collect a stool sample. Sarah's demeanor was still normal, up until Saturday night.  At that time, she started to have a runny nose.  Her eyes were glassy and watery.  She was antsy.  By Sunday, she has a full-fledge cold.  Runny nose, congestion, and cough.  No doubt she was uncomfortable.  Besides all those symptoms, she still had the diarrhea.  Poor baby!! Poor baby Sarah!! But she is still a trooper. Despite of all that, she still managed to sneak in a few smiles and even some laughs to calm her nervous-wrack mommy down.

Yesterday night at 1:30am, Sarah developed a fever of 102 degrees.  Although this is not the first time Sarah has a cold, this is the first time she has a fever.  Thank goodness I stocked up a bottle of infant Ibuprofen in my medicine cabinet "for emergencies."  Well, yesterday was the emergency.  I gave her the medicine as prescribed on the box (but not without first spilling at least 25% of the bottle onto the counter with my nervous hands).  After 20 minutes, her temp dropped to 100.2. Then another 20 minutes later, it went down to 99.2.  I was relieved that the med was working.  Sarah woke up this morning and didn't have a temperature.  SQ stayed home to take care of Sarah ~ thank goodness she was able to keep the temperature down throughout the day without the need for another dose of Ibuprofen.  She still pooped more than normal, but the last 2 times, the stool were more formed, and not watery, which is an improvement. 

It breaks my heart to see Sarah is such discomfort.  I feel so helpless.  I don't know what to do other than to hold her, but she sometimes gets antsy and don't want to be held.  She still wants to move around and play with her toys, which is a good thing.  When I hear her congested nose wheezing, I feel so bad.  And when she  coughs, it must hurt her lungs. Oh, the cons of putting your child in daycare!  I know her cold is just a phase, and soon enough she will recover from it... and that she will develop a stronger immune system.  I'll try to think positive!! I just want my baby back to normal again.  I miss her giggles and laughs.       

Work From Home

Today I still felt pain in my left rib area and it felt more intense.  Although it has been a couple of days already, the pain hasn't subside.  I think I made it worse by carrying my 19-lb baby around on Sunday.  I should have known better not to do that.   I woke up this morning barely able to move so I decided to work from home (and since I had my laptop with me).  I love working from home, and here's why:

• Because I can wake up at 8:30 and be on time! 
• Because my commute time is cut from 45 minutes in the rush hour traffic to ZERO minutes
• Because I don't have to worry if my outfit matches my shoes or vice versa.  I can work in my comfy PJs!
• Because I can watch TV and relax during my lunch hour
• Because I don't have to deal with my co-workers chit-chatting or speaking loudly on phone calls
• Because I can start prepping for my dinner early

Sadly, I don't get to work from home often.  My boss is old-school and she still believes in "face-time."  I guess she questions if we 'actually' work when we stay at home...which is the silliest thought ever.  For sure, I am just as productive working from home as I am in the office.  The only down side is that because I'm working remotely, retrieving files on the network drives can be a bit slow.  Otherwise, everything is the same...and I'm a happier person all around, which makes me a more productive employee!           

A pleasant surprise

I walked into the office last Friday and saw my boss delivering little white envelopes on everyone's desk. I got one too. I opened it up to find a summary of my 2010 bonus payout, and I was extremely surprised (in a good way)  at the amount!  You see, I work for a retail company. Our main objective is to drive sales and earn profits for the company by buying the right products to sell to customers.  This might be an understatement - but I have a highly stressful job with lots of responsibility and accountability.  I'm dealing with hundreds of million of the company's dollars afterall.  I get paid a decent salary, but what really motivates me is our annual bonus. If I meet all my targets (and there are few of them) then I can earn a bonus equivalent to 30% of my salary. During a good year, this 30% can easily jump up to 40% or 50%, etc.  But there are hardly any "good" years... the targets are usually aggressive and some even impossible to reach.  If I get at least 15% at any given year, I am content.

Well, last year, in 2010, the company had a "good" year.  Overall, sales were great, and profitability was outstanding.  Within my area of management, I've exceeded on some targets and missed some.  But net-net, I got a great bonus %.  Although I got a great %, I only worked for 5 months last year... So I figured that even a great % against my 5 months worth of pay is not going to yield any big dollars.  So here was my surprise when I opened the envelope.  The great % was calculated against my full year salary! What a pleasant surprise! It's too good to be true. I can't quite believe it....

I guess with everything in life - if you don't have high expectations, then you won't be disappointed.  If you don't expect it but end up getting it, you will be so ecstatic to receive such a pleasant surprise!!

So my sister (she got a big bonus too) and I decided to celebrate our bonuses by treating our family to a nice dinner at Koi Palace.  Koi is pretty well-known for their great and innovative Chinese dishes. Or maybe I should use the verb in past tense, was known.  We ordered a set menu, which came with Shark Fin Soup, Abalone, scallops, crab, etc just to name a few.  We also added a Westlake Minced Beef soup (for non Shark Fin eaters) and Peking duck.  I must say that all the dishes were kinda bleh.  It's not that they weren't good, but I guess I expected them to be great.. (the higher expectation = the bigger disappointment).  I definitely didn't get the WOW factor - you know, the memorable dishes that had everyone at the table talking and reminiscing and thinking about when's the next time we'll all go again?  Well, didn't happen with this dinner at Koi's.  And of course, service was mediocre.  It'll be a long time before I revisit Koi's...at least until my memory of this meal fades and I accidentally put them back to my good restaurant list again.    

Baby Essentials

I seriously believe that the baby retail industry is out of control.  There are gadgets and stuff for everything baby because marketers are great at making you feel guilty for not buying the best for your baby.  But you know, the truth is that most of the products, you can totally live without.  Well, the other day, while browsing through Amazon.com, I came across a list a mom compiled, of all the baby items she actually used and liked.  Okay, I'm not dumb to know that the list was sponsored by Amazon.com, so of course, it was bias! Well,  here is MY list of items I actually used & find helpful.  (Of course, as they say, every baby is different!)  Also by the way, I'm skipping diapers, formula/breastfeeding needs, and car seat essentials.

1. Diaper Champ.  Skip the refills, you can use the plastic bags you get from Target, grocery store, etc.

2. Only 2-3 receiving blankets. The ones the hospital give you are bigger & better.  The ones you buy are usually small so your baby is going to outgrow it very soon.

3. Snap N Go stroller frame.  This is to be used with the car seat.  It's great.  It's small and compact and folds up nicely.  Skip the travel system.  It's heavy and bulky.  By the time your baby outgrows the infant car seat, you can get a simple lightweight umbrella stroller instead.    

4. Changing pad

5. Onesies - haha, this is funny. For a whole week or so, Sarah didn't wear any clothes. She just got wrapped up in blankets.  Eventually, you'll need them - skip newborn sizes!

6.  Infant bath tub

7. Baby nail clipper - baby's nails grow so fast! It's nail-clipping time every 3 days! 

8. Play gym - not a 100% necessity. Baby can lie on a bed or a carpeted floor.  The Play gym offered some sort of stimulation, but I question its claim.


Things I didn't (or rarely) use -

1.  Baby wipes.  I wash the baby's bottom with water & pat dry with a towel instead.
2.  Diaper Rash cream
3.  Humidifier
4.  Baby bouncer
5.  Baby bottle stertilizer
6. Pacifier (Sarah never liked it or learned how to suck it)
7. Baby hooded towels (you can totally use regular towels)

Cough, cough, cough

I have been struck with a nasty cough these past 3 weeks. I don't think I've ever experienced this long and stubborn of a cough before, ever, in my lifetime.  It first started with a sore throat end of January and then the coughing began and it never stopped.  Of course I thought the coughing would eventually go away, but 3 weeks later, I am still coughing.  Worst is that sometimes I will have these cough spells that can go on for a good 5 minutes.  My throat gets super itchy and then I cough and cough until tears roll down my cheeks and my face turns flushed red.  It's really embarrassing (not to mention annoying) when I have these uncontrollable cough spells.  I finally went to the doctor's this past Tuesday.  I was afraid that I might have bronchitis, but thank goodness I didn't.  My lungs are clear.  The doctor thinks I have a post-nasal drip, caused by sinusitis.  Basically my sinuses are congested and the mucus that accumulate in that area falls into throat, causing me to cough.  I got prescribed Codeine and OTC Claritin.  Took the meds for 2 days now, and there seems to be a sight improvement to the cough. I just want to be done with this cough!!  It's really annoying.  Not a great start to the year, health-wise....

Update (2/19/2011)
I can't believe that due to my excessive coughing, I've pulled a muscle in my left rib area.  It is painful whenever I deep breathe and extremely painful when I cough!  It even hurts when I put on a jacket or lift up Sarah.  This is not good.  This is not the progress I was looking forward to.

A Letter to Sarah at 8 months 10 days

To my little silly girl Sarah,
Recently,

1.  We found you to be extremely camera shy.  You would be laughing and giggling like your usual self; but the very second that you see a camera out in front of you, you immediately freeze. No more smiles, no more giggles. That's why it is so hard for us to capture these precious moments with you on camera...
2.  You love to wave your arms up and down, up and down, and squeal!  Just love it when you do that - looks like you're having so much fun, and it surely brings a big smile on our faces!


See your hands waving?!



3. You are always so smiley!  I absolutely love your laughs and giggles. You can laugh at almost anything. You are a happy baby! :-)

4.  I think you might have ezcema. There is a constant red rash on your face, right near your mouth.  Sometimes the area will get so dry that your skin gets scaly. Most of the time, however, your skin is smooth to the touch, but the red rash is still there.  I think it's because your face is constantly wet from your drool. We're loading up a lot of Aquaphor on you - hope it helps.

5. You are trying to crawl, but not yet. You haven't really been given a lot of chances to crawl, so you haven't mastered the skill yet.  But you're making progress! You've found a way to move about, which is rolling!! No, you can't roll your way around all the time!

6. You have 2 teeth now! They are now prominently displayed whenever you smile.

7. You don't like Gymboree.  You just don't.  I don't know what's with the place, but you don't enjoy the activities one bit. You cry or whine during the whole session.  Either that, or you stare at the other babies. Not sure why.  But next week will be your last week there.

8. You've learned how to play with us.  You once held a blanket up high to cover your face, then you lowered the blanket - you did this repeatedly. We know you wanted to play Peek-a-boo with us.  You've also learned how to softly bump your head against mine - because then we will look each other in the eyes really close and we both laugh our hearts out. 

9.  You've outgrown your infant car seat and we've since switched you to a convertible car seat.  You will be using this car seat for the next 5+ years!

10.  You now say the words, "da-da" and even sometimes "da-dee."  Your daddy gets super excited when you say these words, but I highly doubt that you're actually calling him!  When are you going to say, "Ma-mee?!"

oh Silly Girl, you are the joy of my life. You can make me smile, laugh and cry at the same time.  Love you, love you, love you very much!!     

 

Gymboree

SQ bought a Groupon for a month's worth of Gymboree classes back in September. Before we knew it, the Groupon was expiring this month, so we had to use it or lose it.  We joined the Saturday class for Babies 6-10 months old and went in a couple of weeks ago. Today was our third class. Even though we made an effort to go in 10 minutes early before class start today to get Sarah familiar with the environment (recommended by the instructor), she still cried.  She cried during the last 2 classes too.  I don't exactly know why. She might be just overwhelmed, which I thought was weird because she is used to having a lot of kids around her in daycare.  I guess she's just a scaredy-cat.  Whenever the instructor rings the bell, Sarah gets scared and cries. She is unable to do any of the activities because she's scared.  She doesn't even attempt to crawl or try to have fun. Most babies there giggle in delight whenever we sing songs, blow bubbles, or do parachute time.  Nope, not Sarah.  She is probably too busy counting the minutes until we're done so she can leave...

So needless to say, we probably won't be extending our membership. We're done after our Groupon classes end - 2 more classes.  I'm glad that we didn't have to pay full price.

    

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Happy 8-month Birthday!

 

Guess who turns 8 months old today?!  My sweet little baby Sarah!!   

Happy Year of the Rabbit!!

Sarah wishes everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Rabbit! 

Sarah's 1st tooth

It took me a while to be able to take a picture of Sarah's 1st tooth.  It came out a couple of weeks ago but it was so tiny that I could barely see it.  Plus, every time I try to pull on her lower lip to inspect, she just sticks her tongue out and hides it.  But now, her tooth is much more visible. Her 2nd tooth is also on its way out.  Can't see it on the picture, but it's there.... Goodbye, gummy smiles...   

TJ products

Only tried the Tandoori Naan so far.  It's quite good, and super easy.  Comes frozen, Pre-heat oven for 400 degrees and then put these in for 3-4 minutes.  Done.  4 pieces, enough for 2 adults for dinner. $1.99

I used this sauce with chicken and served it with naan.  I'm not an expert Indian cuisine eater, so I can't really tell if this is authentic or not.  Taste-wise, I think it is fairly decent. The only thing is that the sauce is really liquidy as is.. and the direction on the jar tells you to add another 8 oz of water (which I didn't). Wish the sauce would be thicker. $2.29

The 3-flavor fruit bar solves the problem of having to choose only ONE flavor.  It's raspberry, lemon, and strawberry all on 1 bar.  I think it's only OK - I didn't like the lemon one bit. It was too sour for me.  I was so happy to be done with it and move on to the strawberry!  $1.99

Great snack - crunchy and the cheese is really rich and flavorful.  May be too salty for some people, but I  like my snacks salty. The crackers stick to your teeth though.$1.99

These are delicious! Perfect with tea. They come in a small box and is easy to devour in a day! Wafers with cocoa cream inside.  They kinda reminds of me the Chinese "Hello Panda" cookies, but the wafers here are lighter and crunchier.  $1.49

Parents Magazine "magic window"

I subscribe to Parents Magazine and found this month's issue interesting to share. The article is about finding the right magic window timeframe to transition your baby...

Here's some rough guidelines the article highlighted (roughly paraphrased):

2-4 weeks: give a bottle to a breadtfed baby

4-6 months : get baby to sleep through the night ie., sleep train baby to fall asleep in his own

7-9 months : use a sippy cup

Around 6 months : start solids

12-18 months : introduce a lovey ie a soft blanket, stuffed animal to help with separation anxiety

12-23 months : take away the pacifier

2-1/2 to 3 years: move from crib to a bed

2-1/2 to 3 years : potty train

3 to 5 years : end naptime

5 to 7 years : take off the training wheels from bicycle

6 to 7 years : bathe by herself

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A Letter to Sarah at 7 months 10 days

To my dear little Sarah,

Recently,

1. You’ve got a tooth!!!  Or should I say you got a little grain of rice sitting out of your lower gums?! The little white thingy peaked out last Sunday (Jan 9th)… well, at least that’s when I noticed it.  You didn’t cry, whine, or fuss before or after. And thank goodness you didn’t have a fever either.  I sure hope that the rest of your teeth will come out this way.
2. You are a solid sitter now.  But sometimes you would still fall back or on your side – you look so cute when you fall because it’s like seeing Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall!
3. You got your first haircut on Dec 28th. You look like a boy now due to your Daddy’s horrible hair-cutting skills.  He now regrets cutting your hair so short because he often asks why your hair is growing so slow?
4. You actually can suck water from a cup through a straw.  I find it amazing that you can do that, but you would do everything for water. You absolutely love it, though we have been limiting your water intake because we don’t want you to get filled up and not drink your milk.
5. You drink 7 oz of milk, 4 times a day and eat 3 tablespoon of rice cereal or oatmeal (+2-3oz of formula to mix), and a 2.5 oz jar of Stage 1 fruit or vegetable.  You seem to love eating. I want to add 1 more jar of fruit/veggie into your meal plan, but it’s been hard to work out the schedule.  We’ll continue to work at it.
6. You love to play – especially now that you got some toys for Christmas. Your favorite so far is the toy piano, which is actually a hand-me-down toy from your cousins.  But you love it regardless.  It plays music and lights up.
7.  Of all the toys and things to do, you are guaranteed to get super-excited when you sit on your Daddy’s shoulders.  You have the instincts to hold on, which is to pull on his hair.  You squeal loudly with excitement and smile with your famous watermelon mouth!
8. You have too many nicknames. I think one day you will probably get confused. In addition to your English name, Sarah, we call you by your Chinese name, Kay-Kay.  Then we also call you “mao-jai” (little kitten) because you purr like a kitten and you love to lick everything.  Daddy also calls you Silly Girl, and then Mommy calls you Little Girl. I hope you continue to respond to every name or nickname we call you.
9.  You still don’t like to do tummy time and would rather stand.  We think that you might bypass crawling and go straight to walking one day.  Either way, mommy is not in a rush to get you mobile just yet! 
   
10.  You continue to brighten our day, everyday. We are so blessed and lucky to have a daughter like you.

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Sarah is standing, with a little help from Daddy, of course

Reminiscence

I've been back at work for three weeks now, and have pretty much integrated back to the office routine. My line of work has always been stressful and even though some things have changed during my absence, the stress part of my job,did not. Almost everyday I am busy. Every minute of my day is filled with work, from answering emails to writing orders to meetings. I have no time to check my personal email or check Facebook. And sadly I don't have a free moment to think about and miss Sarah...

Today, after yet another busy day at work, I realize how much I miss my maternity days. Boy, do I miss them. I miss the times when it was just Sarah and me, at home. I miss our daily walks around the neighborhood. I miss spending all day with her period. Life was good back then. It was fun. Oh, how I wish I can rewind time!

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Happy 7 Month Birthday!

Sarah's 1st (unauthorized) haircut

When Sarah was sick during the Christmas holidays, she rubbed her eyes and face a little more often than normal.  The poor girl is probably sleepy and tired, not to mention congested and irritated. My husband read all her rubbing actions as a need for an emergency haircut.  Yes, true, her bangs are getting a little long, and they do get into her eyes a little bit...but we managed by clipping up her hair to get them out of the way.  But on 12/28 at 7:30 in the evening, my husband had the Eureka! moment - the bangs GOT TO GO. No, the clips suddenly don't work anymore.  No, it absolutely can not wait until tomorrow morning to go to the hairdresser to get it trimmed. Out came the scissors. Friskars, mind you.  These are the same pair of scissors we use to cut paper, strings, and everything else.  Chop, chop, chop, cut, cut, cut.  Oh...my poor baby's precious, silky hair...!  Off they went!  Of course, the baby moved.  Of course, the bangs were lopsided. Of course they came out shorter than expected.  Poor baby girl now looks like a boy!  I'm trying hard to console myself by thinking that Sarah didn't get a bad haircut, she just got one of those popular pixie cuts. She's now a trendy baby.  Yea, that's it!

     

6-month portraits

Late in posting these... we brought Sarah to JcPenney's this time for her 6-month portraits.  This time, SQ and I decided to be in the pictures so we took some family pictures as well.  The pictures turned out satisfactory.  We were able to make Silly girl smile on a few of the photos.  She wasn't as cranky as the last time, which makes it a decent photo shoot. We dressed Sarah in the red little dress again. We ended up buying the copyright to all the images, as well as get a whole bunch of sheets and got a 20x20 framed collage (below). Although we spent more money here than we did at Sears, we definitely got more bang for our buck.  They gave us a $50 gift certificate to use for the next portrait session - so guess where we'll be going for Sarah's 9 month portraits?  I sure hope that next time when we go, we'll just spend within the $50 gift certificate amount! 

Here are some of the photos to share:

New Beginning!

Today is the start of the new year 2011 - New Years Day is always a start for a new beginning! Despite the howling wind, the freezing rain, and chilly air today, I still feel warm inside... especially when I'm at home, with my dear husband and adorable daughter!  P.S. The heater turned on at full blast helps a lot too!

Post Holiday

Sarah got sick on Christmas Eve's Eve - had a stuffy & running nose and cough.  The silly girl didn't cry much - just a bit more whiney.  She still smiled whenever I sang her favorite songs.  (Lately, it's "Itsy Bitsy Spider.")  She didn't have much of an appetite to eat though.  With the stuffy nose, I can see how sucking on a bottle can be uncomfortable.  We didn't go to Sacramento this year, which turned out to be a good thing.  Sarah got a chance to rest up a little bit. We celerbated Christmas at my sister's house on Dec 25th and it was definitely a fun-filled night.  Great food, caroling, a visit from Santa, performances, games, our annual "must-have" slideshow, tons of pictures and presents!!  Sarah was super tired and sleepy but still managed to stay awake to join in on the festivities. She is such a trooper!!  :-)

Sunday was a "rest day" for Sarah.  You know how when adults get sick, they stay in bed all day?  Yep, that is what silly girl did all day on Sunday.  She stayed in bed. Woke up to feed, stayed up for a little bit, and then went back to sleep.  Today Sarah seems to be a lot better.  She is more lively and smiley. I hope she'll get better soon! Can't wait to see her and hear her laugh again!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

2010 Christmas Card

We took this picture of Sarah on our bed on a random Saturday morning.  We had our shades down, and SQ played around with the aperture of the camera to capture this shot in this lighting.  Sarah had just learned how to sit so it was a fun photo shoot.

We ordered our holiday cards through Pear Tree Greetings.  I would highly recommend this company. Not only do they provide cute quality cards, they have excellent customer service.  They have live chat help and very responsive to emails.

Back to Work

First day back at work, after a 7 month maternity/disability leave... Spent the entire morning mostly catching up with my co-workers.  While I was busy doing that, I downloaded my emails, and there were 1,400+ of them. I guess for a 7-month time frame, that isn't too bad. Many people were actually smart enough to drop me off the list; others continued to email me simply because I was part of the distribution list and they were too lazy to delete me off.  Marked all the emails as "Read" and filed them away without actually reading them. haha.  10:00am - meeting with boss to catch up on work stuff. Unpacked boxes filled with reports and brochures, which I can easily toss since they are now obsolete. Lunch at desk.  2:00pm - business review update meeting with VP who came back from HKG to spend the holidays in the US.  4:00pm - met 1 of the my direct report, and then I left at 5:00pm.  Got down to the MUNI bus station - and lucky me, the L car came quickly.  Not sure if it was running at its normal speed, but I didn't get home until 5:50pm! Picked up Sarah at exactly 6:00pm.  So that was my 1st day back.

I missed Sarah. I missed her a lot today. Don't know why I miss her more so today than I did last week.  I was so so so happy to bring her home today - again, more so than I did last week. I wonder what was the difference, other than the fact that I worked all day today?  She was smiley as always - but she got sleepy at 8:00p after her bath, so she went down for the night.  Today, I barely got to spend any time with her at all.  :-(

I am so rusty at work today. I didn't remember where the files were saved and how to run the reports. And I'm sure that when it's time to use Excel, I would have forgotten most of the functions and shortcuts.  Out of sight, out of mind.  There is a lot to catch up on - but I guess I'm not so excited to catch up... some things at work just stay the same. I wish I could still be at home with Sarah. I hope I'm just going through a phase...and that soon, I will get back to the swing of work and plow ahead...

A Letter to Sarah at 6 months 10 days

My sweet little baby Sarah,
Recently,

1.  I miss you soooo very much when you're at daycare!!  Today is your 3rd day. I think about you very second of the day. When I look at my watch or the clock, I think about what you're doing that very moment.  Are you napping, playing, or are you eating? Are you missing mommy as much as I am missing you?! I'm sure you are doing far better than me because you're are strong, resilient, and adaptable. Plus, you're super adorable so who wouldn't love you lots?!?  :-)
2.  It's almost instinctual for you to roll over from your back to your tummy every time we put you down. You are probably getting ready to crawl.
3.  You seem to have forgotten how to roll back the other way (tummy to back). When you get too tired from being on your tummy after a while, you just cry and cry and get frustrated. Most of the time, you end up falling asleep on your belly.
4.  You can sit for a short period of time especially if we have a toy in front of you (for entertainment and as support). So far you love the Discovery Ball.  It's a toy that you roll around and it plays music.
5.  Your tasting menu has expanded! You have now tasted rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. Your favorite so far is pears! Baby, you still have so many foods to try!
6.  You are becoming a thumb sucker and I'm not liking it a bit.  You already like to put your fingers into your mouth but lately, you tend to favor your thumb. It seems like you only suck on your thumb when you go to sleep. But I have seen you fall asleep without your thumb before, so you probably don't need it that much.  We can work on this!
7.  You've outgrown all your 6-month clothes, not in width, but in length. You're going to be a tall girl when you grow up.
8.  Still drooling like a faucet and still no tooth yet! It's not that I want to see you teeth - because I still love your gummy smile. I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind all that drool. :-)
9.  You always smile and giggle whenever we blow raspberries into your tummy.  You must really love that.
10. Your newest gig lately is sucking your lips into your mouth. When you do that, you look like a Cabbage Patch doll.  Sometimes you only suck in your upper lip.  When you do that, you look like an old Granny! LOL

 

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety - not Sarah but me.  Sarah will be going to daycare starting next week. A wave of emotions is hitting me and hitting me hard. I never knew that I would actually enjoy staying home and being with Sarah full time.  If you ask me a few months ago, I was so sure that I would rather go to to work. I could never be a stay-at-home mom...so I thought. But these couple of months drastically changed my mentality. Now I understand why mothers leave their jobs to stay home to take care of their kids. I would do it too if I could.  It's special. Spending time with Sarah is absolutely precious and I enjoy every second of it!!   

When I go back to work, I will surely miss our daily walks and outings. We had our routine down to the tee. I could read her like a book. I know when she's hungry, when she's full, when she's sleepy, and when she needs a diaper change... So sad just thinking about how Sarah and I will be separated during the day starting next week.  I spent this week preparing her bag for daycare - diapers, wipes, extra clothes, etc. And each time I add something to the bag, I pause to think about how she will do in daycare. Will the caregivers know all her little quirks and habits?  Will they know that Sarah speaks through her eyes when she needs to poo?  Will they know that she babbles for a good 5 minutes before she falls asleep?  Will they know that she loves looking out the window?  That she loves to hear mommy sing?  *sniff* *sniff* (Uncontrollable waterworks!!)

I bet it's those darn hormones taking the best out of me right now.  I know that I will still see her in the morning and at night, and during the weekends - so I will still get to spend lots of time with her - for the rest of my life! Don't grow up too fast my sweet baby. Wait for mommy!

Solid feeding

 

6-months is such a big milestone for babies.  Not only do they learn how to roll over, they learn how to sit and begin teething, they now need to learn how to eat too.  Apparently, babies only know naturally how to suck.  So what we all think as a simple task of transporting food from the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat and then swallowing the food is actually a learned skill.  Babies need to learn how to do this.  When babies are too young, they have this tongue reflux that pushes the food out.  But when they are older, this tongue reflux disappears, they are now "ready" to eat solids.  

This whole solid feeding thingy is extremely confusing to me.  I don't know why! I actually tried to give Sarah rice cereal when she was 5-1/2 months.  The instructions on the box were 1 TBSP dry rice cereal, and 4 TBSP formula (or breastmilk).  The consistency is really really liquidy. It was barely a solid at all.  But either way, I fed that to her but didn't have much luck actually getting into her mouth.  She spit most of it back out so I thought maybe she's not ready.  I tried again a few days later, and it was still a disaster.  She also had some loose BM so I gave it a rest again. A week later, I gave her oat cereal. This time, I made the consistency a little bit thicker, so it felt a little more like porridge.  She ate the whole 2 TB I gave her!  I was super happy that this is finally going somewhere.  But then my happiness was short-lived.  She refused it the next day I gave it to her.  Sarah is all over-the-place when it comes to solid feeding.  One day she knows how to swallow and loves the cereal.  One day she forgets how to eat and pushes everything back out with her tongue. 

So far I am able to only get 1 solid feeding with Sarah a day.  I want to increase this to 2x a day, but so far haven't had much luck.  She is so good at keeping her lips tightly sealed when she doesn't want any or any more. So besides rice and oat cereal, I fed her peas.  She loved them 2 days ago (ate 2.5 TB), but rejected them this morning.  Ai-ya!! What a tough eater to please!  Please tell me that this is only a phase and that my baby will learn how to love everything I put into her mouth....    

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6-month wellness check up

I brought Sarah to the pediatrician's yesterday for her 6-month wellness check up.  The appointment was at 9am in the morning (again, it's in the middle of her nap time).  Side note: I realize that I have only a short window of 1/2 hour to catch Sarah in a non-eating and non-sleeping mode.  So I gave up.  She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but quickly woke up when I moved her car seat into the stroller.  She's a very light sleeper and doesn't transition at all.  We did the usual measurements (see below) and then the doctor came into the room.  I didn't see the same pediatrician as I did last time due to scheduling conflicts.  But this pediatrician seems to be much more experienced and better at handling Sarah. She didn't cry at bit!! I had a lot of time to ask the doctor my questions.  I was so happy and thankful! I think I might even change the primary doctor to this pediatrician instead!

Sarah took her regular 3 shots & 1 oral vaccinations.  She also took an additional one for the seasonal flu. Poor thing. She cried out loud and had tears rolling down her cheeks.  But by the time I put her back in her stroller, she already stopped crying.  She's such a trooper!! 

Growth percentiles (6 months)

Weight : 16 lb 2 oz (54% tile)

Height : 26.75" (84% tile)

Head Circumference :17.3" (88% tile)

Compared to the experience last time, I must say that today's appointment was wonderful!!  Only if every check up is like this....

Today Sarah's not eating much and don't have much of an appetite for anything.  She normally takes 6 oz of milk every 3.5 hours.  But now she's barely taking in 4 oz.  She was also very whiney and irritated yesterday...today, not so much.  She's really back to her normal self - smiling, giggling, and laughing.  Her thighs must be sore though!!  Poor poor baby! 

Oh yeah, one more thing - no teeth yet. Doctor can't feel anything coming out.  So baby, may I ask you what your drooling is all about?!  LOL

Happy 6 Month Birthday!!

A Few of my Favorite (Beauty) Things

As part of my job, I am lucky that I get to sample a lot of beauty products for free.  The down side is that sometimes I absolutely fall in love with that product...and then I have to shell out my own $$ to buy them when I run out of the sample.  Here are a few of my favorite (Beauty) things!

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

 
Why I like this:  It really cleans my face - all the make up, dirt, and oil. I feel very refreshed and squeaky clean. Best part is that my face doesn't feel dry at all.  







Chanel Precision Toner

Why I like this:  I actually don't know if toners ever really "tone" my face, but I like this one because it's alcohol-free and it smells great.









Genifique Eye Serum

  
Why I like this: It's super light.  It doesn't make your eyes heavy like some of the other eye creams do.  







Estee Lauder Hydrationist Moisture Cream

Why I like this:  I am in love with this product.  It has the perfect balance - it's heavy enough for my dry winter skin, but yet it's not too oily that my face feels gross.  I apply it 2x a day during the winter months, and my face is silky smooth and moisturized.



Christian Dior Hydra Life Gel Serum

Why I like this:  On hotter months when my face is less dry, this is the perfect moisturizer for me.  This is also good for people with oily skin.  It's light and easy to apply.  The gel texture in a serum formula is a great combination.  





Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

 


 Why I like this: Because it really CURLS.  I have bought so many of the cheap ones from drug stores before, and it just isn't the same!  Asian lashes are short to begin with, but this curler really can make your lashes longer & curl up!!  I accept no other imitation!   





Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Black Mascara

 
Why I like this:  The mascara is black-black. Super black. The brush is perfect and can really extend your lashes.  I wrote an entry on this blog about this product before.  Go check it out here.  I absolutely love it!!  







Lancome Bi-Facil Eye make-up remover

Why I like this:  Because it works!!!  Again, I have used other eye make-up removers before, and still can't get all the mascara out. But this one works wonder and it is the best! 

Teaway

I am a HUGE fan of boba milk tea.  I love it more than coffee.  I am lucky that I live near Irving St (in the inner Sunset) because there are so many places to get a good cup of boba.

I think that Wonderful Foods should be considered the originator of this whole boba craze (at least in this area anyways). They were the first to be on Irving St. Their tea is good; they're great in my opinion.  It's full of tea flavor and they use crushed ice, which makes the drink nice and cold. They originally charged $2.50 each cup. There would be lines every time I go there. This is really the "IT" place.  After a while, I found out that if I don't get the boba (which I'm not crazy for anyways), they would only charge me $2.00.  I loved it!  It was the best thing ever!  However, this perk went away really fast.  The next time I went, regardless of boba or not, the charge was $2.50.  I didn't like that a bit.  Then soon after, they moved across the street and began to charge $2.75 per cup. The lady in there isn't all that nice either. Call it Feng shui, call it Fate, call it bad business sense, or call it fierce competition, but this store's popularity dwindled after they moved across the street.

Quickly came about and charged only 99 cents for a cup of milk tea. You can pay an additional 50 cents if you want to add boba.  Quickly's tea was never as good. It doesn't have the rich tea taste - in fact, it's more milky. I don't love it, but it's cheap.  For less than $1, I can satisfy my milk tea craves. So I went here instead. There's always a wait at Quickly too. And that's because there is usually only one person manning both the cash register and making the tea.  When a customer comes in and orders a smoothie or a few drinks, it'll take forever to have his/her order filled.  Oh yeah, there is usually also 1 guy in the back kitchen.  I think he's most likely the owner. Even though the lines are out the door, this man will never come out to help. He will be in the back of the store, chopping chicken.  Yes, I swear that is all he does - chop chicken.  He has no business acumen whatsoever. Customers, me included, have left that place because the lines were too long and have no patience to wait. 


So when Teaway first opened on Irving, I had my doubts. They would be the THIRD store on Irving selling boba milk tea.  The other two stores are just 1/2 block from each other.  There is NO room for Teaway to survive.  But I was totally wrong.  This place blossomed and has taken market share away from the other 2 stores.  At first, I didn't like their milk tea all that much.  Like Quickly's, their milk tea has more milk flavor than tea flavor. It's also very sweet. But what's different at this store is that they allow you to scoop in your own boba. Besides boba, they have different types of jelly. They charged only $1.99 per cup and implemented a customer loyalty program: Buy 8, get 1 free. $2 for a cup of milk tea is the "sweet spot" in terms of price point. Teaway is now the #1 store boba store on Irving.  There is always a line out the door, while the other 2 stores are quiet. I am a regular patron here now!

I guess the lesson to be learned here is that there is always room for improvement and creativity, despite how much competition there is!

Xmas tree is up!

 

It has been years since we put up a Christmas tree.  When we first bought our house in 2002, we set one up.  I remember buying a fresh cut one from Home Depot. But years have gone by, and we've survived many Christmases without a tree.  The reason is we are just too lazy to go get one, decorate it, and then take it down. Plus we normally don't host any parties at our house, so there wasn't really a "need" to get one.  This year's mentality started out similar to the past.  We weren't planning to get a tree even though it would be Sarah's first Christmas.  But it turned out that Target has this tree on sale on Black Friday, for $30.  Yep, a 6' pre-lit tree for $30!  It is a great deal!  But we don't do Black Fridays.  We hate the crowds, the lines, and the madness.  Fortunately, my BIL and his friends are still into the thrills of Black Friday sales. He went and helped us buy this tree.  It is absolutely perfect!! So easy to assemble and it is just the perfect size for a little small living room.  I added extra lights on it to make it more vibrant.  I dug up my old ornaments and hung them on the tree.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find some of the other ornaments & the tree top - so that's why the tree looks kinda bare.  Oh wells. 

I am also going to find a nice Baby's 1st Christmas ornament somewhere and start a new tradition for Sarah. 

  

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am especially thankful for:

• my husband, who loves me unconditionally, and lets me be me
• my sweet little baby Sarah, who continues to brighten my day, every day 
• my parents, who always take care of me and think of me 
• my family, especially my sisters, who is always there for me, no matter what
• my friends, who are always a great company for laughs and fun 
• my health ~ so glad to live like a normal person again!
• my job ~ I am very thankful that my company kept the same job/position for me even though I took 7 months off and continued to pay me all this time!

When I feel down, I shall think of all the wonderful things and people around me. I am truly very blessed!! Thank you! Thank you for giving me what I have...

Have a great Thanksgiving!!   

little visitor

I brought Sarah to SQ's workplace last Thursday for a surprise visit. His coworker shot this picture with her camera phone. I love this picture. It captured how excited SQ was when he saw his little visitor.

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A Letter to Sarah at 5 months 10 days

Dear my sweet little Sarah,

Recently,

1. You learned how to roll over! Oct 31st, Halloween - that's the first day you officially rolled over from tummy to back. Since then, your tummy time has been cut down to only a few seconds each time because you love practicing rolling over! 

2. You are also very close to rolling over the other way too!  You can already position your body correctly but don't quite know what to do with your arms yet... but you will get there, soon enough!
3. Your hand/fingers are now your best friends. You love putting them into your mouth, AT ALL TIMES. You don't like the pacifier - you never did. Mommy still thinks you're teething, but you have now been teething for 2 months...still no pearly whites to be seen yet. 

4. You drool, drool and droll.  You go through 3-4 bibs in a day and even with that, you can manage to get your shirt underneath wet too. The Post Office should hire you to lick stamps with all your excess drool. 

5.  Your baby laughs are contagious. You giggle at the simpliest things...like when I say "Peek-a-boo" in different tones. How was that funny? But I would do anything to make you laugh, even if I have to say Peek-a-boo a million times.  
6. You are beginning to eat solids. This week you are starting off with only 1 teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with formula.  You did great!! Not looking forward to your poop though... :-)

7.  You still love to bath. You take one almost every day before bedtime at 7:30pm.  You don't mind the water splashing on your face.  You don't mind when I spray your hair with the shower sprout. You don't mind how rough mommy gets with you, turning and tossing you around to clean all your little folds...you never utter a peep. You just smile & splatter the water with your legs and hands!  

 

8. You can sit by yourself for a few seconds now when you support and balance with your arms!

9. People are saying that you are looking more and more like your daddy...especially your eyes, forehead and the shape of your face. Mommy is in denial. You used to look so much like me when you were younger!  

10. Mommy is a worry-freak and constantly thinks about you ~ whether you're full, whether you have enough sleep, whether you're too hot or too cold.  My biggest wish right now is that I hope you will get better with eating and don't throw up anymore.

Sloppy mom

I'm walking through the aisle of The Children's Place. A tall beautiful woman in a sleeveless flowery blouse, skinny jeans, and 3 inch heels, holding a Louis Vuitton satchel, stands near a nesting table. She has straight long brown hair; her make-up nicely done. She was pushing an infant stroller with a baby boy sleeping inside while looking at the baby clothes. Dang, she looks fabulous.  And there I was with my crappy, thinning hair, no make up, loose jeans, cheapo crossbody bag, tennis shoes. Gross. We are both moms, yet we look night and day.  I wonder how some moms can get themselves so quickly back to their pre-pregnancy figure and their pre-pregnancy look?!  And how they find time to make themselves look so good before stepping out the door?

Before Sarah, I mentally told myself that I can not get sloppy when I become a mom.  Yes to matching jewelry, to heels, to fashionable clothes, to make-up. Well, that didn't last every long.  Comfort and convenience became the rule of the game. It has became the only rule in my book.  Yes I am a sloppy mom.  Forget all the fancy things - now I considered it a success whenever I can get Sarah and myself out the door without a sudden spit-up and the baby bag adequently stocked!       

Sarah gets a special kiss from her BFF Sophie the Giraffe today on her 5-month birthday, and she's ecstatic! Happy Day my sweet baby ~

SF Giants Win!

The San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series!! YAY!!  As a SF native, of course I am proud of the home team.  But don't get me wrong, I am not a baseball fan. And I don't intend to be one "all of the sudden." Majority of the time, I find baseball boring. So does my husband. We've only been to a baseball game once and went because we got free tickets and had nothing better to do that day.  We spent most of our time walking around AT&T Park checking out the stadium rather than watching the game. 

But like many others, I recently got infected by the Giants Fever. I found myself glued to the TV these past few weeks watching the Giants play in the Playoffs, the Championships, and the World Series. The Giants Fever is contagious and it spreads like wildfire. For the first time, I found the games exciting to watch. Heck, I even learned some baseball lingo here and there..."a closer" being one of them.  A closer is a pitcher who goes into the end of the game and pitches the last couple of innings (or last inning).  He is there to seal the deal, close the game. 

So in our family, I am the closer. When my husband feeds Sarah and she gets fussy and refuses to drink the last 1-2 ounces of milk, I go in and feed her. Then she almost always finishes her milk. I seal and close out the deal.